Distant Relatives
by Manni Bothands
Summary: Ja-Kal would always be loyal to his pharaoh, but he couldn't help but miss the wife and son he had lost 3500 years ago. His recent encounter with his nephew further bringing to light how much he missed having a connection to family. However a science project of the young prince Rapses would soon reveal that the falcon-guardian may not be without family in this modern world.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello readers,**

**That's right I just wrote a fanfic for a cartoon that has been off the air for 16 years. That being the case will anyone actually read this? *shrug* No idea. I was watching a documentary on Egypt and decided to take a trip down memory lane and watch a cartoon that I used to watch as a kid. Unfortunately I got inspired to write something and this is the result.**

**I know I'm using science and realism so soft it could probably be spread on toast, but for a cartoon based on Egyptian mummies coming back to life I think we're looking a realism in the rear-view from the get-go.**

**Alright enough of my babbling, on with the story.**

* * *

Ja-kal sat alone in a quiet, seldom used area near the back of the modern-day sphinx in San Francisco. The structure which had been built to resemble the giant, limestone statue of the great sphinx from his homeland in Egypt had been crafted by the nearby museum to temporarily house the Rapses exhibit, which he and his companions had formerly been a part of until their sudden resurrection into this modern world.

Now the building that was strangely familiar and yet unfamiliar served as their new home.

Why the people of this modern age would put effort into making such a structure only to tear it down shortly after had completely baffled the falcon-guardian. Then again there were a great number of things in this modern era that left the unofficial leader of the reanimated royal guardians mentally disorientated.

However his confusion was irrelevant. By the command of his pharaoh, the great Amenhotep, he had a sworn duty to perform. To protect the reincarnation of the young prince Rapses, and on his honor as a guardian he would see to it that no harm came to the boy.

Although the museum had intended on demolishing the recreated sphinx they had been able to convince the city to allow the building to remain permanently thanks to their prince's quick thinking. This was lucky for them because it was doubtful that any other place in the city could have housed four mummies, the mummified sacred cat as well as all their sarcophagi so easily without drawing any unwanted attention.

Protection of the prince would have indeed proven difficult without a safe place for them to rest and restore their powers.

As Ja-kal continued to sit in quiet solitude a forlorn sigh escaped past the mummified flesh of his lips as he stared down at the ratty scrap of worn linen resting gently in his palm with grief-stricken, blue eyes. A crushing sense of guilt squeezed at his un-beating heart as he ghosted his index finger over the remains of a black print on the fabric made by a tiny hand.

Though he was sworn to remain in this present-day world, which was over 3500 years from when he had last drawn breath, for as long as his pharaoh demanded he couldn't help but long for the family he had lost, his beautiful wife Tia and their infant son Padjet.

_Tia. _ He had loved her with every fiber of his being when he had been alive, but she was no longer his. It would have been foolish for him to think that she had remained unmarried after he had left her a widow. A fresh wave of remorse clenched around his heart at the painful reminder of what he had sacrificed for his pharaoh.

_Padjet. _The infant son he never got a chance to know.

As he stared intently into the ancient fabric in his hand as though the material could somehow conjure up images of what had happened to his family after his death, he began to wonder what his own son would have thought of him.

Would he have thought of him as a brave warrior who died in service to the pharaoh, or would he have hated him for abandoning his mother and him in order to fulfill his duty as guardian to the young prince Rapses?

Had he even lived long enough to understand that his father had gone to the realm of Anubis? In his time infant mortality rates where quite high and it wasn't uncommon for death to claim a child before he or she had reached six years of age.

Though he knew his family had been gone for thousands of year, perhaps lost to him forever his recent encounter with his nephew, Kimas, brought the aching need to have a connection…any connection…with _family_ rushing to the service.

He cared a great deal for the young prince; even loved the boy like a son but it wasn't the same. Rapses was a royal, sacred duty…Kimas had been blood.

Raising from his seated position the falcon-guardian carefully placed the shabby piece of linen back inside the wooden chest that kept it safe. After Kimas had returned through the Western Gate, sacrificing himself in order to help stop Arakh, the fragile piece of fabric was the only connection he had left to family and he could ill afford to lose it.

Another sigh escaped past his lips as he ran his hand over the top of the ancient box that housed his most treasured possession.

"Ah there you are Ja-kal," Rath's shrill, authoritative voice called.

Upon hearing his name Ja-Kal supressed his growing melancholy and turned in the direction of Rath's voice.

The soft, scraping sound of linen wrapped feet striking against the stone floor of the sphinx grew louder with each step until the snake-guardian was directly in front of Ja-kal, his tall, green and yellow head-dress sharply emphasizing the elongated structure of his face.

"What in the name of Ra are you doing back here?" the gangly scribe questioned curiously. "It's your turn to pick the young prince up from his house of study."

Ja-Kal's blue eyes widened momentarily when he realized just how much time had passed while he had been sitting in grievous solitude. He would always long for his family, whether or not the waited for him on the other side of the Western Gate, but for now his duty to the prince came first.

"I'd better not keep our prince waiting then," Ja-Kal replied before racing towards the Hot-Ra.

* * *

Presley Carnovan scuffed the toe of his sneaker against the sidewalk outside his school as shaggy pieces of brown hair fell over his eyes while he waited for one of his guardians to arrive to take him home. Though the brightly coloured, strange-looking vehicle of the mummies was typically waiting for him its unusual absence barely registered to the teenage boy.

It would be here eventually, besides the reincarnated prince had other things occupying his thoughts currently.

For the past several weeks Presley's science class had been studying genetics. Learning about chromosomes and how traits such as eye or hair colour were passed down from one generation to the next. As part of a learning project they had been asked to send in DNA samples to the Global Genome Project, a scientific research group that was studying how individual people related to one another.

They could send in samples, easily collected by rubbing a specialized Q-tip against the inside of a cheek, from themselves as well as anyone else they knew that was willing to take part in the study.

The Global Genome Project was a massive scientific study and thousands of people had already sent in DNA samples for them to add to their database. In return for sending in the DNA the research group sent back a report telling those who participated all about their ancestors as well as who they might unknowingly be related to.

Due to this fact those wishing to contribute DNA to the project had to agree that their own DNA results could be sent out in a report to someone whenever it was applicable.

Presley had been mildly apprehensive about participating at first. Briefly he was worried that the project could be used by Scarab to track him down in order rip out the soul of the young prince that dwelled within him, before dismissing the idea as being utterly ridiculous.

Scarab knew him as Rapses not as Presley Carnovan. Although Presley wasn't entirely sure what effect the prince's spirit had on his own DNA he was fairly confident that the withered, dark-sorcerer wouldn't be able to figure out how to use the genetic blue print in order to find him.

The ancient Egyptian probably had no idea what DNA was.

With his momentary, absurd fears cast aside Presley had himself as well as Ja-Kal participate in the research study. He had chosen the falcon-guardian because out of the four of them Ja-Kal was the only one who had any children, at least that he knew of anyway. So he had the perplexed guardian swab his cheek in the name of science. Although Presley had been highly dubious about a match being found to the ancient DNA he had decided to send it in regardless.

Presley's class had received their reports today and to his absolute astonishment there had actually been a likely match to Ja-Kal. However, the report indicated that the sample sent in by 'Jack' could have been damaged or contaminated due the abnormally high number of possible generations between the two individuals.

Stunned couldn't even begin to describe the boy prince's present mental state. He had sent in Ja-Kal's DNA sample as a joke, expecting to read a report later that stated that the sample had been invalid or something. Never in his wildest dreams did he think there would be an actual match.

What was he supposed to do now? Despite the fact that the mummified man generally tried to keep his emotions hidden Presley was well aware that the unofficial leader of his guardians greatly missed his family. One would have to have a blackened heart made of stone not to have noticed.

If it had been up to him the reincarnated prince would have already released Ja-Kal from his duty to him so he could return to the family he had lost so long ago. However, no matter how much the falcon-guardian obviously missed his family he would never forsake his duty unless otherwise order to do so by none other than Amenhotep himself.

Should he tell him, would Ja-Kal even believe him if he did? The mummies relied heavily on Rath, the wisest among them, to explain anything they came across in this modern world that they didn't understand. However, Presley doubted that even the snake-guardian would be able to understand the concept of DNA testing. They weren't exactly open to current scientific ideas, they're disastrous visit and subsequent banning from the planetarium could attest to that.

Then again Rath had surprised him in the past. Regardless of the fact that the ancient scribe had no prior knowledge of cars he had been able to create several, functional vehicles in a surprisingly short period of time.

Perhaps magic really was handy to have.

The familiar rev of an engine torn Presley out of his current reverie, the Hot-Ra had arrived to pick him up. Raising his vibrant, green eyes from the piece of sidewalk he had been intently staring at this entire time he was greeted with the sight of Ja-Kal sitting in the driver's seat, the glass-like dome lifted so the prince could get in.

Even though they had been alternating who came to pick him up for a while now it was still strange to see anyone other than Nefer-Tina behind the wheel.

Leaping into the awaiting vehicle Presley quickly settled into the passenger seat beside Ja-Kal.

"My apologises O'Prince, I hope you weren't having to wait long," Ja-Kal offered, his voice heavily laced with guilt as the Hot-Ra once again raced through the busy streets of San Francisco.

"Don't worry about it. I had some stuff I needed to take care of after school anyway," Presley immediately replied. _Like figure out what I'm going to do with the information in this report._

The stiffened posture that the falcon-guardian had adopted since his arrival at Presley's school slowly began to relax. Even though Ja-Kal could be quiet fatherly, almost friendly at times he could become quiet rigid whenever he was worried that he might have upset or offended his prince.

Apparently no amount of arguing would ever convince the mummies that they didn't need to treat him like a pharaoh. As far as Presley was concerned he was just an ordinary kid, but to the mummies he was the boy prince, only son to pharaoh Amenhotep, great ruler of upper and lower Egypt.

"Hey Ja-Kal," Presley began as he stared absentmindedly out the dome of the Hot-Ra watching the world of San Francisco pass by in a dizzying blur.

"Yes my prince?" Ja-Kal questioned, keeping his eyes on the road but letting the boy know that he had his attention.

"Instead of taking me home could you take me back to the sphinx?" Presley finished, turning to face the guardian across from him.

"Of course my prince," Ja-Kal replied. Perplexed as to why the young prince had asked such a question and not simply ordered it. As long as it didn't put the prince in danger the mummies had to obey whatever he commanded of them. _Something this modern version of the prince was still surprising uncomfortable with _Ja-Kal thought with a knowing grin. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh no, no…not really…at least I don't think so…," Presley awkwardly mumbled, still uncertain how he was going to explain the possible existence of a living relative to Ja-Kal. "There's just something I want to talk to you about."

He still wasn't sure how the falcon-guardian was going to react to the unexpected news of having a potential, multiple-great-granddaughter but he felt that the man deserved to know. Presley just hoped that the news wouldn't inadvertently cause his guardian, _his friend_ any unnecessary heartache.

"You can talk to me now O'Prince."

"Uhh trust me Ja-Kal, I'd rather wait until we're no longer in a moving vehicle."

* * *

"I don't understand my prince. What's this about a Global Genome Project?" Ja-kal questioned his puzzlement unmistakable in his tone.

They had arrived back at the sphinx and with the Hot-Ra returned to its place in the garage Presley had offered a friendly greeting to his three remaining guardians before following Ja-Kal to a relatively quiet area of the sphinx so that they could talk privately.

Well as privately as one could manage with three nosey mummies around anyway.

Presley had been trying to explain how his class had been studying genetics in science, and about sending in DNA to the Global Genome Project but was failing miserable. _Ugh where's Rath when I need him?_ If he didn't understand why Rath used the phrase 'it's far too complicated to explain right now' before he certainly did now. Though in Rath's case he suspected the phrase was a ruse to hide whenever the snake-guardian didn't actually know something himself.

Which given the circumstances was probably far more often than the lanky scribe would ever be willing to admit.

"Do you remember when I had you rub the inside of your cheek with that Q-tip?" Presley questioned.

"Yes," Ja-Kal replied, an eyelid lifting slightly as he arched an eyebrow under his bandages. It had been an odd request from his prince but seeing no harm in it he had nonetheless done what had been asked of him.

"Well the Global Genome Project takes those Q-tips and sends back a report letting you know things about ancestry and who you might be related to," he continued flipping to his section of the DNA report. "See here," he started pointing to the information written on the page, "it says here that it's possible that I have a distant cousin living in the UK," he finished pointed to a picture of a freckled man with wild red hair.

The mummified flesh of his brow furrowed in confusion. Though the prince seemed rather animated over whatever it was he was talking about Ja-Kal was still unclear on why the adolescent boy felt the need to discuss this with him personally.

"That's nice my prince," Ja-Kal responded noncommittally before a sudden realization struck him as though Horus himself had slapped him across the face. "My prince you didn't give this Project a copy of your image did you?" he questioned worriedly. "If scarab were to…."

"Relax Ja-Kal, sending in a photo was optional and I opted not to," he quickly replied before Ja-Kal could continue with his impromptu lecture.

Ja-Kal sighed in relief. As long as there wasn't an image that could be associated with the name, Presley Carnovan, it was unlikely that the evil sorcerer would be able to learn the modern identity of their prince.

"Anyway, the point I've been trying to get to is they found someone who you might be related to as well," Presley ineloquently concluded, frantically flipping to the section that held said information.

For Ja-Kal time seemed to stop completely. If his heart were still beating it would no doubt be pounding against his ribs like a caged lion right now. Could what his prince was saying be true? Was it even possible? Tears began to well-up in his eyes at the ramification of what such a thing would mean.

His son had lived.

Presley nervously bite his lower lip hoping that the unshed tears he saw glistening in Ja-kal's eyes were tears of joy and not sadness. He hadn't meant to cause the man any undue pain.

"See here she is," Presley stated, pointing to the image of a pale-looking girl with long, dark hair. Hair that looked so similar to Tia's. However what shocked him the most were the girls striking blue eyes. He recognized those eyes; he saw them whenever he looked into a mirror.

If he didn't think this girl was related to him before, he had little doubt of it now.

"My prince…how…where…can I…," he mumbled incoherently, completely at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry Ja-Kal, I didn't mean to upset you," the boy prince guiltily replied nervously scratching at the back of his neck. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you."

"No my prince, I'm glad you did. I'm just stunned is all, but it gives me great joy to know that my son lived and had a family of his own."

"Are you sure?" Presley questioned suspiciously.

"Yes my prince," Ja-Kal replied with a grin. "Will I get to meet her?"

Having learned of this girl's existence and of her possible relationship to him Ja-Kal was eager to meet her. However the giddy almost child-like glee he felt at knowing he still had family in this world was quickly replaced by a sobering wave of responsibility. He still had a duty to the prince. Besides would meeting her be fair to this girl? No one would ever expect to learn that they had an ancient relative that was still alive.

Alive being a relative term of course.

"Who knows, it says here that she studies paleontology so maybe she'll come to the San Francisco museum one day," the young prince responded with a shrug.

After learning that a 3500 year old mummy had a potential living relative anything was possible.

* * *

**Thanks for reading.**

**This was a random spur of the moment idea, so I'm not sure if I'll continue with this story (or if there's any interest in me doing so).  
**

**For those of you reading any of my other stories, before you rush over and attempt to flog me with giant sticks you should know that I have a new chapter started for each story. When the inspiration bug bites again I'll be sure to finish them.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello Readers,**

**This is getting a lot more interest than I had been expecting. Thank you.**

**When I had originally started writing this story I was a little worried that there would be zero interest in it. Glad to know I was wrong.**

**That being said, here's another chapter**

**Enjoy **

* * *

Emily Halverson indolently flipped through her mail as she casually made her way towards the apartment building elevator. Briefly she entertained the thought of taking the stairs to her 8th floor apartment but the tiredness in her limbs and the dull ache in her feet had her opting for the less strenuous choice of taking the elevator.

It had been a long day already and she still had to pack for her flight in the morning.

Unsurprisingly most of the mail consisted of junk letters but there was one manila envelope from the Global Genome Project. Likely the DNA analysis report from the sample she had sent in several weeks earlier.

Although her field of study had very little to do with genetics, human genetics at least, Emily and her colleagues had agreed to participate in the world-wide research project. As a researcher herself Emily understood how difficult it could be to gather significant data without the necessary amount of subjects, and looking into something like the human genome on a global scale had to be a massive undertaking that would require a lot of participants

As a fellow scientist she felt obligated to contribute to the project.

Not that it had been particularly demanding on her part. Swabbing the inside of one's cheek wasn't exactly complex or time-consuming.

As the doors chimed open to her floor Emily stepped off the elevator and walked the short distance down the eerily silent hallway to her small suite. Eager to read what results the people at the Global Genome Project had discovered.

It wasn't long before she found herself unlocking the front door to the place she currently called home and walking inside. Although with her busy schedule calling it a home may have been a stretch. Between laboratory work, lectures and symposiums Emily found herself spending very little time in the single bedroom apartment.

The clean white walls had been left complete bare and only a sparse amount of furniture decorated the near neurotically neat living space. A testament to what little time its singular occupant had actually spent _living_ here.

Though she was often kept extremely busy Emily enjoyed her work in the field of paleontology. Upon hearing that she studied ancient life most people immediately pictured someone who was out in the middle of nowhere searching studiously for dinosaur bones. Though this could very well be true for some paleontologists this was not the case for Emily. The research project that she was currently on, which focused on trying to determine how the prehistoric creatures actually would have moved, dealt more with computers than any actual research out in the field.

Despite being rather young Emily was rapidly gaining recognition for her contributions to the scientific study of prehistoric life and was often invited to speak as a guest lecturer on the subject at various functions.

The most recent of which was an invitation to speak at the San Francisco museum.

Thanks to its generous benefactor, Mr. Harris Stone, the museum in San Francisco seemed to have a greater focus on Egyptology than paleontology but Emily had decided to accept the invitation nonetheless.

Besides the study of ancient Egypt had been her second passion and she had briefly considered the idea of majoring in the subject. However, the tantalizing call of the giant, prehistoric beasts had been too loud to ignore.

Flopping unceremoniously on to her couch Emily tossed the pile of junk mail on to her meager, little coffee table before tearing into the envelope from the Global Genome Project. She leisurely skimmed through the pages finding very little of interest until near the end of the analysis report.

According to the results she had a potential genetic relationship to someone who went by the name of Jack. Which in of itself wasn't overly fascinating, however the genetic profiling was indeed interesting. According to the results there was 70 generations, if not more, between herself and this Jack person. Apparently the people at the Global Genome Project thought that this was a rather strange anomaly as well and had dismissed it as a likely contamination error.

Emily momentarily puzzled over the unusual finding before dismissing it as an error like the research group had. After all, a contamination glitch of some kind was far more plausible than believing that she had some ancient relative out there somewhere.

* * *

The brightly coloured, unusually shaped Hot-Ra, the signature vehicle of the mummies, roared into the sphinx before screeching to an abrupt halt. Lacking any actual doors the clear, glass-like dome lifted with a gentle hiss of air and five occupants leapt out.

"You left the sphinx without us and nearly got yourself captured," Ja-Kal's authoritative voice immediately scolded.

"What in the name of Ra were you thinking, running off like that?" Rath questioned accusingly. "Why if I hadn't been able track your amulet in time…."

Several hours ago Presley had innocently left the sphinx unaccompanied by his guardians in order to grind some asphalt at his favorite skate spot in peace. Although he had great respect for the mummies and thought of them as friends they could still be rather smothering and Presley just needed his space from time to time.

Unfortunately for the unsuspecting prince Scarab and his obedient clay soldiers, otherwise known as shabtis, had been lying in wait, ready to take advantage of the rare opportunity of surrounding the unprotected young pharaoh.

If Ja-Kal and the others hadn't arrived in time to proverbially pull his rear out of the fire Presley most certainly would have been at the mercy of the ruthless evil wizard, a truly undesirable fate indeed.

Presley could still hear the gloating cackle that had erupted out of Scarab's throat in celebration of his premature victory. The ambition to gain youth and immortality had completely consumed the nefarious sorcerer and he would stop at nothing until he had claimed the soul of the prince for himself.

"I know," Presley groaned, green eyes cast to the floor in guilt, "but I have to be a normal kid too, I can't be Rapses all the time."

Unsurprisingly Presley was having some difficulty coping with the rank of Egyptian royalty that had been suddenly thrust upon him. He was just a 12-year-old kid and wanted to do the normal things, such as skateboarding, that normal 12-year-old kids did. However, with the soul of an ancient Egyptian prince residing inside him and four resurrected guardians devoted to protecting him _normal _was no longer possible.

"You are what you are my prince, but we can't protect you if we're not with you," Armon calmly reasoned.

Despite being a skilled fighter the one-armed warrior couldn't figure out why the adolescent would consciously choose to leave his guardians behind or why he would want to stop being the prince. This new incarnation of their ward was truly strange indeed.

"We're supposed to be a team, remember?" Nefer-Tina added, gently placing a reassuring hand on the young boy's shoulder.

Presley turned his head towards the single female guardian and offered her a weak smile before he sighed in defeat. As much as he wanted to argue otherwise he knew that the mummies where right. He had been lucky this time but next time the mummies might not be able to arrive in time to defend him, and knowing that he had caused his guardians to fail a second time was something that he was not willing to live with.

Like it or not Presley was just going to have to accept the continuous presence of what he teasingly referred to as _the dork patrol_ wherever he went.

"Who's hungry?" Armon acquiescently inquired with a large grin, breaking the thick, palpable tension that had been surrounding the unlikely band from the moment they had returned to the sphinx.

The one-armed fighter may not have been the most astute member of the group but he could always be relied upon to find a way of deflating a tense situation. Without waiting for a reply the endlessly ravenous mummy happily made his way towards whatever area of the structure that they called home served as the kitchen in search of sustenance.

Feeling rather famished himself Presley chased after the bulky warrior. It would still be a few hours yet before the overly cautious Ja-Kal would deem it safe enough for him to be taken home, fearing that the evil sorcerer was still out there angrily combing through the city in search of the prince. Since he was going to be stuck at the sphinx for a while he might as well go with Armon and get a snack.

Nefer-Tina having rapidly grown bored of the present situation casually excused herself before quickly dashing off in the direction of the garage, no doubt intending on fiddling around with the jetcycle, much to Rath's chagrin. The former charioteer never wasted an opportunity to immerse herself among the modern chariots of this era and the ancient scribe would have been hard pressed to try and stop her.

Something Rath had begrudging come to accept.

"Young people", the gangly scribe sighed in mock irritation shaking his head. Although he often came across as being incredible arrogant the snake-guardian was undoubtably relieved that they had all survived yet another attack from Scarab unscathed.

Having been greeted by nothing but silence at his casual remark Rath turned worried, green eyes towards their pensive leader. Out of the four of them, five if the sacred cat was included, Ja-kal could be the most uptight when it came to the protection of the prince. Often blaming himself for any close calls they encountered.

"Ja-Kal, are you…alright?" the snake-guardian apprehensively questioned.

The leader of the guardians continued to remain silent for a few more minutes before forcing himself to relax. Worried green eyes momentarily locked with weary blue as a strained sigh escaped past the falcon-guardian's lips.

"Yes old friend," Ja-kal unconvincingly replied. "I've just had something on my mind."

Although there was no denying that he had indeed been extremely concerned for the safety of their prince, and would no doubt lecture the boy on the importance of having his protectors later, something of a different nature had been occupying the royal guardian's thoughts of late.

That being of the recently acquire knowledge of a potential living relative.

Not yet ready to reveal such an astonishing, unexpected revelation to the others Ja-Kal offered no further explanation, deciding instead on disappearing into the further recesses of the sphinx in search of contemplative solitude, leaving behind a thoroughly confused scribe.

Normally, particularly after a recent battle with their enemy, Ja-Kal would have sprung at the opportunity to lecture any of the guardians on the importance of their sacred duty, or at the very least given some nonsensical speech that used animals as metaphors. Disappearing with hardly a word on the matter was definitely strange behavior for the falcon-guardian.

"Well, that was unexpected," Rath contemptuously offered to the remaining silence.

* * *

Finding himself once again in the place he often returned to when needing to be alone inside the sphinx, a space that his companions graciously respected, Ja-Kal carefully tilted back the lid to his ancient, wooden chest and pluck out the most recent addition to the contents inside. He gingerly clutched the retrieved item to him, while internally warring with himself to put it back.

It was the modern print out of the DNA analysis report kindly bestowed on him by the young prince, its stark white pages in startling contrast with the ratty, worn items that surrounded it.

He knew it was foolish but like the ink mark left by his son he found himself inexplicably darn to the foreign paper and the connection it represented.

For what could have easily been the hundredth time, Ja-Kal immediately flipped to the section of the report that had captured his interest. Cerulean eyes scanned over the strange lettering of this era, unable to completely decipher their meaning before being drawn to the friendly, smiling image of a girl he didn't know.

An unknown girl who looked so much like Tia and had blue eyes that were shockingly similar to his own.

_What was she like? Was there anything left of his own son in her? _He silently wondered as he gently ran a finger over the picture, the linen bandages on his hand lightly scrapping against the paper. Though it was likely nothing more than an exercise in futility Ja-Kal curiously pondered over just what type of person this girl was. Was she courageous and headstrong like Tia, or was she more calm and calculating like himself?

Aside from theorizing what this girl might be like Ja-Kal had started giving into perhaps a more alarming habit of speculating what it would be like to have this unknown girl, this distant relative in his life.

Something that could be easily considered dangerous thinking indeed.

He did not belong in this world. It was only by the will of a pharaoh that he found himself pulled from oblivion to once again walk among the living. Rationally he knew that the life of a guardian could be a hazardous one and any association with him could put this girl's life in danger.

The unconscious need to protect his family was still etched into his very soul and he would not intentionally risk the safety of this unknown girl, no matter how distant their relation.

His longing to have a connection with family was seriously starting to cloud his judgement. As the uncontested leader of the resurrected guardians Ja-Kal did not have the luxury of dwelling on thoughts of this girl, no matter what her relationship to him might be. His duty to the young prince would always have to come first, always.

As a reluctant acceptance that he would never know this eerily familiar looking girl washed over him, he returned the report to its place beside the worn piece of fabric and closed the lip.

Even though it was a treasure he could not have he would still keep its memory safe.

* * *

Presley leisurely strolled through the City Museum, the ancient treasures it housed a familiar sight to him as he took a well-known path towards the office of his mother, Amanda Carnovan. Since the mummies were literally right next door the museum was one of the few places the young prince could go without needing to have a guardian in tow. Which was just as well because having to explain the presence of reanimated mummies or that he was the reincarnation of an Egyptian prince was not a conversation he wanted to have with his mother.

However, given how vigilant they were it wouldn't have surprised Presley to learn that even here a guardian was shadowing his every move. The resurrected Egyptian mummies could be astonishingly stealthy at times.

Not that he could fault them for it. His protection was something that the guardians took _very_ seriously.

As he continued towards his destination a few security guards and staff members waved to Presley in greeting having become accustomed to the appearance of the tanned boy in the green shorts, off-white long-sleeved shirt and red backpack over the years.

For the adolescent boy it had been an uneventful Saturday so far, compared to the unfortunate close call he had with Scarab the previous day, and Presley wanted to waste some hours at Wave-World swimming with his friends, Elaine Setter and Walter Lu.

The mall, a common place to hang out on the weekend, had quickly become tiresome for the trio and the water park sounded like a far more entertaining way to pass the time.

Having finished his chores, which consisted of tidying his typically disorganized room and spraying Doggie-Off on his mother's roses to prevent the neighbor's dog from digging them up, Presley had come to the museum in search of funds.

His mother wasn't the type to indulge him on his every whim, but she could usually be counted on to give him some money on the weekend. Provided he had finished his chores of course.

"Thank you for coming Miss Halverson, we're so glad you could make it," came the polite voice of Presley's mother through the door to her office.

Halverson? Why did that name sound so familiar to him?

"Emily is fine. It's my pleasure Ms. Carnovan, thank you for inviting me," replied an unknown female voice. "I'm sure you're busy so I won't take up too much of your time."

"Call me Amanda, and it's not a bother. However, perhaps you'd like to take this opportunity to visit the city until you're speech this evening," Amanda kindly suggested.

Hearing that this obviously wasn't a formal meeting with a potential financial donator to the museum, but rather another congenial conversation with one of his mother's scientist contacts Presley pushed open the door and was immediately stunned by what he saw.

There, standing in his mother's office was the girl from the photo in the DNA analysis report, the one that had a potential genetic match to Ja-Kal_._

Brilliant green eyes widened in disbelief as he stared silently at his mother's guest, his mouth opening and closing in a wonderful impression of a guppy.

Despite her dark hair, which hung loosely past her shoulders, she didn't look much like an Egyptian. However, that wasn't entirely unexpected. There were a lot of genetic traits that could be added and lost over 3500 years. Besides she probably had no idea that her ancestors descended from ancient Egypt.

If Presley had any lingering doubts about the accuracy of the genetic test results provided by the Global Genome Project they evaporated the moment she turned towards him and he got a good look at her hauntingly familiar eyes.

A photograph could lie, whether it be intentional or an unintended result of printing, but in person her blue eyes where still nearly identical to Ja-kal's.

"Presley?" Amanda question in surprise, clearly not having anticipated her son's arrival.

"Hello there," the unknown woman pleasantly greeted, offering the bewildered adolescent a cheerful smile.

"Oh Presley, this is Emily Halverson. She's the paleontologist who will be speaking at the museum conference this evening," Amanda politely introduced having overcome her surprise at the boy's unexpected appearance. "Emily, this is my son Presley."

She was the paleontologist? This chipper, young, surprisingly attractive women was his mother's guest lecturer? Usually the people speaking at these things were stuffy old men whose dry, monotone voices could have easily been marketed as a sleep aid.

If there were other scientists like her he was going to have to think about taking a serious look at the field of paleontology in the future.

"Uhh…yeah…uhh…hi," Presley awkwardly replied, suddenly feeling self-conscious around Emily. It wasn't that he was shy it was knowing that one of his guardians was Emily's multiple-great-grandfather, which was an enormous secret to carry.

He certainly couldn't blurt out the truth. Not without revealing aspects about his life he'd rather keep hidden, not to mention sounding like a total crazy person.

Although his original intention for coming to his mother's office had been to ask her for money, he found himself barely able to contain the compulsion to immediately run back to the sphinx to inform Ja-Kal.

Surely the falcon-guardian would want to see Emily, even if only from a distance.

"Hello," Emily offered again in reply.

"What brings you here Presley?" Amanda questioned, already suspecting what the answer might be.

"Oh…uhh…nothing important, I didn't realize you were busy. I'll come back later," Presley rambled in response before disappearing out of the office.

"Kids," Amanda quietly muttered, a knowing smile gracing her lips as she good-naturedly shook her head.

* * *

"Ja-Kal!" the young prince called out once he had entered into the stone structure of the sphinx. Green eyes frantically searched for the familiar sight of the ancient hunter but found nothing. With adrenaline coursing through his system the first waves of panic began to lick along his nerves at the falcon-guardian's absence. He had incredible news to tell so why wasn't Ja-Kal here?

"What is it my prince?" Rath questioned anxiously, "Is everything alright?"

The calculating green eyes of the lanky scribe swept over Presley from head to toe, no doubt searching for any sign of injury. Obviously finding none he crossed his arms over his bandage-wrapped chest impatiently waiting for the young prince to explain why he was racing through the sphinx shouting.

"Hi Rath, have you seen Ja-Kal?" Presely questioned the hope that the scribe knew the other man's whereabouts unmistakable in his voice.

"He's getting groceries with Nefer-Tina," Rath replied, arching an eyebrow under his bandages inquisitively.

Out of all the guardians the young prince was probably the closest with Ja-Kal; however, it was still highly unusual for the boy to be running about the sphinx frantically calling out the falcon-guardian's name.

Disappointment washed over the adolescent's face at being unable to immediately speak with Ja-Kal, patience being a skill that the young prince had yet to master.

"Don't fret my prince, I'm sure they'll be back shortly," the snake-guardian rationally explained. Curious as to what might be so important for the young prince to need to speak with Ja-Kal so urgently.

Luckily for the both of them they didn't need to wait long. The customary rumble of the Hot-Ra echoed through the stone structure before Nefer-Tina skillfully pulled the vehicle to a stop in its usual parking space.

"Must you drive so fast," Ja-Kal catechized, expertly leaping out of the vehicle with a bag of groceries in each arm.

"Must you be so…mummified," the female charioteer instantly countered, caring another pair of grocery bags. She threw the ancient hunter a glare, silently daring him to challenge her before turning her nose up in self-proclaimed superiority and disappearing in the direction of the kitchen.

Ja-Kal gave an exasperated sigh in defeat. Arguing with Nefer-Tina about her driving was a battle he was never going to win.

"Ja-Kal," cried the voice of his prince.

Hearing his name being spoken by the young pharaoh Ja-Kal gave the boy his attention straight away. Immediately standing at attention, posture stiffing as he prepared to carry out whatever orders the prince bestowed upon him.

"Yes my prince?" Ja-Kal replied.

"We have to talk," Presley offered in return. Completely unaware of the authoritative power he currently held. "She's here."

"I don't understand my prince, who's here?"

"The girl from the picture," Presley added in a frantic rush of words. His large green eyes quietly pleading for the falcon-guardian to understand.

Ja-Kal's facial features contorted in the universal expression of confusion before understanding went off in his brain like a flare.

* * *

**Thank you for reading and thank you for the fantastic reviews.**

**Until next time… **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello Readers,**

**I apologise for the long absence. Things have been pretty hectic lately and I haven't been able to devote much time to writing my stories. :( I thought things would settle down with school wrapping up...but apparently I was wrong.**

**Oh well, better late than never right?**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

As the full meaning of his prince's words took hold, images of having some semblance of a family again began to race through Ja-Kal's mind momentarily unhindered by any sense of royal obligation. Bringing with them a joy he had not felt since his nephew, Kimas, had once again returned to the afterlife that awaited on the other side of the Western Gate. She, the mysterious girl, that lately had begun to haunt his thoughts, was in San Francisco? How? When?

His pride and honor instantly began screaming soundlessly within the confines of his mind, demanding that he search the city for this girl. He wanted to find her with ever moral fiber of his being so he could embrace her in his arms and see for himself that she was safe. At the moment thoughts of her life or his place in it seemed irrelevant. After all she was his kin, and to an Egyptian like himself nothing was more important than family.

Except for the sacred duty, that on his honor he had sworn to uphold.

_Rapses_

Ja-Kal's emotional heart warred with his rational brain as a cold wave of responsibility washed over the falcon-guardian, raking any thoughts of _family_ from his mind. Regardless of his longing to have a connection with this girl Ja-Kal could not allow himself the luxury of such a thing. His honor as a guardian and as a loyal servant to the pharaoh demanded that he uphold his sworn oath to protect the young prince. Despite what his personal feelings might be the guardianship of the prince always had to come first.

Briefly he silently screamed within his own head unable to fully suppress the bitterness that flared through him like fire. He had sacrificed so much for his pharaoh already, his wife, his child, even his very life. How much more would he be required to sacrifice before his duty finally came to an end? As much as he wanted to roar out loud at the unfairness of it, Ja-Kal knew he could never forsake his sacred responsibility. No matter how much he may have wanted to at times.

The flames of bitterness quickly burned away returning the falcon-guardian to his usual self, a servant ever loyal to his pharaoh.

He would not risk possibly endangering the prince just to satisfy his own personal desires.

Bitter resolve swirled behind saddened blue eyes as he tried to convince himself that this decision was in the girl's best interest as well. As much as it pained him her life would be a lot safer without him in it.

"If we hurry we might be able to catch her before she leaves the museum," Presley excitedly stated, dramatically pointing an arm toward the exit for emphasis. Unaware of his guardian's recent resolve.

Presley never would have guessed that the girl from the DNA analysis report, the one that had an unlikely connection to Ja-Kal, would be standing in his mother's office. What were the odds? The shock of such an unexpected turn of events had completely white-washed over his original intension for being at his mother's office in the first place. Overwhelming excitement sparked across ever nerve in his body as he dashed back to the sphinx eager to tell the falcon-guardian of the good news.

The reincarnated prince was well aware that the lack of family was a great source of sorrow for the ancient hunter, and it burdened his heart to know that he was responsible, in more ways than one. Past events aside, Presley knew that he alone was the reason Ja-Kal could not be with his family on the other side. His oath to Amenhotep to protect him kept the falcon-guardian bound to this time.

If Ja-Kal couldn't be with his family on the other side of the Western Gate at least he now had a chance to be with family here. This girl was from Presley's own time, and in the city no less, there was no reason that the falcon-guardian could not create a relationship with her and still uphold his duty to protect him, right? Ja-Kal could even use the 'Jack' alias Presley had created so the girl didn't even need to know anything about resurrected mummies or reincarnated princes.

"Come on Ja-Kal, what are you waiting for?" Presley questioned worriedly at the falcon-guardian's delay.

A sense of dread clenched at the young prince's heart as he took in Ja-Kal's rigid posture, a look of determination etched on his face that was only betrayed by the mournfulness in his eyes. Presley should have known that the ancient hunter was going to react this way. Ja-Kal was an excellent guardian, but the man had a tendency to take the role a little too seriously sometimes. Okay, a lot seriously all of the time. Presley was reasonably sure that the world would not shatter if Ja-Kal was to loosen up a bit, but the bandaged man clearly seemed to think otherwise.

They were just going to go see this girl, maybe even say hello to her. It wasn't like Ja-Kal was tying him up with a giant ribbon and handing him over to Scarab. There was of course the issue of keeping their identities secret. The fewer people who knew of them, and could therefore link the name Presley Carnovan to Rapses, the better. However, he'd been able to pass the mummies off as distant cousins before, despite their odd behavior at times, and no one seemed to question it. As long as this girl didn't end up talking about his actual family history with his mother there was no reason to think she wouldn't believe him as well.

"My prince I…," Ja-Kal weakly replied. It pained him to have to disappoint the boy. Although he was the young prince's friend he was his guardian first.

"What is going on my prince? Who is here?" Rath's shrill voice questioned.

A thoroughly disconcerted scribe shifted his emerald gaze between Ja-Kal and the young prince, eagerly awaiting some form of explanation, but none was forthcoming. From what the snake-guardian could determine someone had recently arrived in the city that had Rapses nearly bouncing off the walls in excitement and had Ja-Kal in a rather pensive, slightly tense mood.

Unfortunately this offered no clarification on the matter as this was quite a typical reaction for either of them. Until he could find a spell that would perhaps speed things along Rath was just going to have to be patient and hope that someone would explain just what in the name of Ra was going on.

"It's nothing Rath," Ja-Kal lied, hoping to appease the snake-guardian's curiosity.

It wasn't that Ja-Kal didn't trust Rath. Quite the contrary, next to Ja-Kal the lanky scribe was probably the most level-headed among them. It was just that despite his resolve he didn't want to hear that he was right, and the snake-guardian would almost certainly agree with his decision not to see this girl.

"How can you say that Ja-Kal…?" Presley questioned in dismay.

Anger quickly began to burn through the young prince's veins like wildfire instantly replacing any other emotion that was coursing through his body. How could Ja-Kal say that the chance to meet someone who he was related to from this time was nothing? Presley's eyebrows furrowed together as his lips stretched downward into a bitter frown that seemed out-of-place on the young boy's usually cheerful face. If he could he would drag Ja-Kal to meet this girl himself. As soon as that very thought entered his mind a proverbial light went off in the young prince's brain.

Although he was usually loathed to do so, if Ja-Kal wasn't going to coöperate he could make it an order. The man was just being needlessly stubborn and if Presley needed to pull the 'I'm the pharaoh' card then so be it.

Then again, making it a direct order while Rath was still present would make a personal matter for the falcon-guardian a rather public one among the guardians. Presley may have been furious with Ja-Kal for deciding that meeting with this girl somehow threatened his ability to uphold his duties as a guardian, but that didn't mean he wanted to expose Ja-Kal's secret of a distant relative before the ancient hunter was ready to announce it himself.

Anger was quickly consumed and the normal, cheerful boy emerged once again. Perhaps there was another way.

"Well I'm," the young prince began, pointing to himself for emphasis, "going to go out to look for her so unless you want me to wander around the city unguarded…."

A large grin spread across Presley's face as he purposely left his sentence unfinished. Leaving the royal guardian little time to debate the matter the young prince quickly made his way towards the exit of the sphinx to head back toward the museum.

Ja-Kal was instantly wise to Rapses's blatantly obvious scheme. It may not have been the most cunning of plots but it had effectively painted the falcon-guardian into a corner. He couldn't stop the prince from seeking out this girl on his own and he most certainly couldn't allow him to remain unguarded while out in the city. Not while Scarab was still out there.

Ja-Kal's mixed emotions on the subject had him on edge but he had little choice in the matter now. Reluctantly he changed into a pair of street clothes which consisted of faded blue jeans, beaten up runners, a plain white shirt, a blue baseball cap and a long-sleeved green button down shirt. It wasn't the most luxurious outfit but it was sufficient enough for him to pass as _normal_ in this modern world.

Satisfied with his disguise the falcon-guardian began making his way towards the exit before the young prince could get too far ahead of him.

"Hold on Ja-Kal I'll come with you," Rath commented, having changed into a pair of street clothes of his own. Though his outfit consisted of a long blue trench coat, jeans, worn loafers and his characteristic gold and green head-dress had been replaced by a more modern blue hat.

"You don't think I can protect the prince on my own?" Ja-Kal defensively snapped.

"Ja-Kal…?" Rath replied, the hurt in his voice evident.

The ancient scribe had noticed that the falcon-guardian had not been his usual self lately, but he would never question Ja-Kal's ability to protect the prince. Not without the other guardian frankly giving him a reason for doing so. Something was going on here, and this mystery person they were discussing earlier definitely had something to do with it.

"My apologies old friend…I didn't mean…," Ja-Kal regretfully replied.

"Think nothing of it," the snake-guardian dismissively responded. Though he was immensely curious over what was going on it was going to have to wait. "We'd better catch up with our prince. You know how impatient he gets."

* * *

Presley's lungs burned for air as he hurried to make it back to the museum, hoping to catch his mother's guest lecturer, Emily Halverson, before she left to tour the city. Realistically he knew that he could just wait until she spoke at the museum conference this evening but he was too excited to even entertain the thought of waiting. Besides those museum conferences had an annoying tendency of being incredibly boring and he usually only went when his mother dragged him there against his will.

He was however giving serious thought to attending Miss Halverson's lecture, willingly no less. Although raging teenage hormones probably had a significant amount to do with that.

Barely knocking once Presley burst into his mother's office violently panting for breath. Frantically his green eyes searched around the room hoping to find the museum's petite guest lecturer still here in casual conversation with his mother. Unfortunately he was greeted by nothing but silence from an empty room. A teal blazer hung off the back of a padded office chair behind the polished wooden desk, signalling that his mother was still in the museum somewhere but there was no sign of the young paleontologist.

Though Presley knew that it would be quite unlikely that Emily Halverson was still in the office, despite rushing here as fast as his legs could carry him, he couldn't prevent the wave of disappointment that washed over him. Mentally shifting gears the young prince began to formulate a new plan for tracking down Ja-Kal's distant relative. It certainly would have been simpler if she had been at the office like he had hoped, but it wasn't a total loss. She was giving a lecture later in the evening so chances where she wasn't going to tour too far from the museum. That would narrow the search down, and if he was wrong…well he could just get one of the mummies to get the Hot-Ra.

"Presley?" Amanda Carnovan questioned in surprise, a steaming cup of coffee held in her hand.

"Oh hey mom," Presley greeted spinning around to face his mother. "That lady that was here earlier…do you know where she went?"

Amanda arched an eyebrow at her son suspiciously silently trying to decode what interest her son had in the young paleontologist. Though Presley had some interest in dinosaurs, after all what boy didn't, she suspected that prehistoric beasts had very little to do with her son's current interest in Emily. Sighing quietly to herself Amanda accepted the fact that her son was growing up. She didn't mind that he was starting to notice girls; she just wished that he would start to notice the ones his own age.

"Emily? She went to take a short tour of the city before her lecture this evening," Amanda answered. "If you want to ask her something I'm sure she'll have time for questions at the end of her lecture."

Presley struggled to suppress a groan that was threatening to escape. His reasons for wanting to find Miss Halverson or Emily had nothing to do with whatever it was she was going to lecture on. However, he couldn't just tell his mother that he wanted to introduce Emily to an ancient family member that just happened to be one of his guardians.

"So…will you be attending tonight?" Amanda questioned with a knowing smirk.

If Presley couldn't find Emily before she had to return to the museum he just might have to attend the lecture, mummies in tow. Though Ja-Kal seemed unusually determined to avoid this girl Presley was going to see to it that they meet, even if that meant having to sit through another boring lecture at the museum.

"Umm…I'll think about it mom," Presley responded noncommittally before exciting his mother's office and quickly making his way out to the streets of San Francisco.

Once again outdoors Presley began the rather daunting task of trying to rationalize the most likely direction Emily would have taken. He was hardly the nerdy science type and had no idea what one would find interesting. Was her only interest studying dinosaur bones? Did she spend all her free time with her nose in some dusty old text-book or reading through boring online articles? Blech. Presley certainly hoped she wasn't _that_ dull. There were some shops and a park a few blocks away from where the museum was perhaps she would have gone in that direction? It was a place to start at least.

"Presley, there you are," a familiar voice called.

"Yeah, what took you so long? Are we going to Wave World or not?" Added a second, distinctively female voice.

Momentarily pulled from his train of thought Presley was greeted by the sight of a young Asian boy wearing dark jeans and a short-sleeved orange button down shirt over a blue t-shirt and a young blond girl wearing purple pants and a black vest over a white shirt. Immediately the young prince recognized his friends, Walter Lu and Elaine Setter.

Presley had to resist the urge to palm slap himself in the forehead. With all the recent excitement he had completely forgotten about his original plan of going to the water park with Elaine and Walter. They must have wondered what had happened to him. "Uhh…sorry guys something's come up," Presley replied feeling mildly guilty. This was not the first time he had abandoned his friends for reasons he could not disclose and likely wouldn't be the last.

"Oh? Like what?" Elaine questioned, easily shifting from the role of friend to that of the school reporter at the possibility of a potential story.

Although Presley had been able to successfully trick the blond school reporter in to believing that he wasn't the alleged boy sighted with the mysterious bay area mummies after the fiasco with Set and Anubis Elaine never quite gave up on the idea that Presley was hiding something. There were just some things that Anubis's sceptre couldn't erase and the desire for a juicy story was certainly one of them.

Despite her ambition however, Elaine was more annoying than she was dangerous.

As the young prince frantically racked his brain for some type of plausible excuse that would throw his blond friend off the scent he caught sight of Ja-Kal and Rath, now clad in modern street clothes, calmly making their way towards them. Having spotted their prince among his friends the ancient pair kept a comfortable distance, knowing full well how angry the boy could become when they 'cramped his style'.

Which was probably for the best because getting Elaine to back down when she thought there was a potential story to be had would shift into the realm of the impossible with those two breathing down his neck.

"There's some…people that I have to….show around the city," Presley clumsily made up crossing his fingers that his friends wouldn't question the rather sketchy excuse. As the words passed his lips he instantly wanted to smack himself for having come up with something so lame.

"You mean those two weirdos?" Walter inquired openly gawking at the two odd individuals that continued to remain a few paces away from where the three of them were standing. "Because they seriously look like they're part of the dork patrol."

"They're not from around here….they're…exchange students you might say. They're here to learn about our culture." Presley hastily added in a desperate attempt to make his poorly made up excuse more believable.

"Well…we could help you with showing them around," Elaine offered giving the strange pair a suspicious look of her own. There was something off about Presley's explanation but she couldn't completely put her finger on it.

"Oh no, no…that's okay. You two go have fun at Wave World I'll catch up with you later," Presley responded. He quickly offered a lazy, wave over his shoulder before his friends could protest further as he made his way over to Ja-Kal and Rath ready to get the _tour_ of the great city of San Francisco started.

Though they seemed reluctant at first the prospect of enjoying themselves at the water park eventually won out over whatever it was that Presley was up to. After all what possible story could there be in a student showing a couple of odd-looking foreigners around the city for a while?

* * *

Emily, having met with the coördinator for the museum, Amanda Carnovan, to discuss and confirm the evenings lecture, was casually walking along the streets of San Francisco. It had hardly been necessary for her to meet with Amanda in person when an email or a phone call would have easily sufficed but Emily often felt that a face-to-face approach when possible was more polite. Besides getting a feel for the building and some of the people working there certainly helped to calm her nerves before talking in front of a crowd.

Emily was good at what she did and had excellent presentations skills; however that did not make her completely immune from getting a little nervous from time to time.

She was still fairly new to all this after all. Unlike several of her colleges who had been in the field for decades longer than she had.

After first leaving the museum she had initially gone back to her hotel to change out of her dressy business attire into something a little more casual. Attempting to tour the city, no matter how briefly, in a skirt and heels was something she would most certainly wind up regretting. Deciding instead to wear a pair of more sensible walking shoes, a pair of dark blue jeans and a light blue printed t-shirt, this one with a bright yellow T-Rex stencilled on the front, a rather amusing choice considering her profession.

Briefly Emily had thought of putting her hair up into a ponytail but had decided against it when she realized that she hadn't quiet decided how she would be wearing her hair for the evening and did not need to be forced into keeping a ponytail due to an elastic induced kink in her hair.

Continuing to walk along, aimlessly taking in the sights that the city currently had to offer Emily passed a few knick-knack stores with little interest. There were a few clothing stores that held more attraction but as this was a brief tour Emily only paused to do a little window shopping before continuing on her way. Purchasing clothing was not something that should not be rushed.

Besides she was certain that there was a comic book store around here somewhere, unless Google maps had lied to her. As hard as it may have been for some people to believe Emily actually did have other interests outside of paleontology, collecting comic books and the associated memorabilia being one of them.

Realistically Emily could have used this free time to prepare for her lecture later in the evening, but the lecture itself was very similar, if not identical, to one she had given several times already and there was such a thing as over preparing.

Finally reaching her destination the young paleontologist happily disappeared into the colorful store decorated with various cartoon characters. Emily Emerged from the store several minutes later carrying a red and black box with the word "Grimlock" easily visible in shiny silver letters.

"You are finally being added to my collection buddy," Emily proudly spoke to whatever was in the box, giving it a gentle pat.

Despite appearances Emily hadn't gone completely insane. She was well aware that the figure inside the box was inanimate and incapable of understanding her. However, this particular figure had been eluding her search for years and Emily was quite happy to have finally obtained it.

Giving the box another affection pat the young paleontologist returned her resent acquisition to the brightly coloured shopping bag the comic book store had provided. Satisfied with shopping for the time being Emily decided to take a leisurely stroll through the nearby park before heading back to her hotel. She didn't want to wear herself out too much before she had to be back at the museum. Beside she was going to be in the city for a few days, there was always time for more shopping and sightseeing later.

* * *

"She likes comics? Okay I think I'm in love," Presley dreamily commented.

Though Ja-Kal was still struggling with conflicting emotion about being anywhere near this girl he couldn't completely deny the brief swelling of pride that flooded through him at his prince's favourable recognition of a family member. Thoughts of family began to resurface before he begrudgingly suppressed them. He had grudgingly made his choice. The prince and the girl would both be better protected if he was not part of her life. Now if only he could successfully convince Rapses of that, and himself.

With the exception of Elaine, Presley didn't know of many girls who wouldn't immediately see something like comic books as being a _stupid waste of time_. Not that he actually knew that many girls. It seemed almost unfortunate that Emily was a science nerd. He'd be willing to overlook that little flaw…if only she was into younger guys though.

Thankfully Presley had been right in his assumption that she would have headed towards the park. Which was certainly a stroke of luck indeed as Ja-Kal was continuing to come up with any excuse he could think of for them to return back to the sphinx. He was even getting desperate enough to suggest that Presley return home to complete his school work. Homework on a Saturday, was he serious? What was with the falcon-guardian anyway, why didn't he want to meet his family member?

If he truly had no desire to meet this girl than why was her picture of such interest to him? Ja-Kal clearly wanted, no needed a connection with family even in this time so why was he being so stubborn when the opportunity was presenting itself? Presley was quite sure that Ja-kal's reluctance had everything to do with him and the obligation the falcon-guardian had in protecting him.

He had never met Amenhotep but there were times when the boy wanted to punch the great pharaoh in the nose, consequences be damned. If the mighty ancient ruler was going to force the mummies to once again walk among the living in order to protect him the least he could have done was stipulate that they were free to pursue their own desires from time to time. As long as he still remained protected what was the harm?

"She's heading towards the park. Let's follow her," the young prince ordered in a low whisper, mildly fearful that their target would become aware of the three individuals currently following her.

Realizing that giving Ja-Kal any time to object would have been problematic given the string of excuses and animal metaphors he had spouted since they'd met up outside the museum, Presley quickly dashed after the oblivious paleontologist before the ancient hunter had time to protest.

Despite their somewhat awkward, uncoördinated, clumsy trailing the streets of San Francisco where reasonably busy for a Saturday so they weren't instantly notice. Then again perhaps they'd just lucked out and Emily wasn't the paranoid type that checked to see if strangers were following her.

Aside from Ja-Kal's occasional utterances of characteristic animal analogies, who's underlying messages where often dubious at best, and a steady string of reason for them to return to the Sphinx, no explanation had been offered as to why they were bothering to follow this modern civilian girl. There didn't seem to be anything particularly fascinating about her as far as Rath could tell. She was reasonably attractive he supposed, a bit skinny perhaps, but certainly not worthy of the attention of a pharaoh or his royal guardians. Curious he momentarily closed his eyes trying to sense if there was any deleterious magic radiating from this unknown girl. A small, relieved sigh tumbled passed his ancient lips when he found none. The good news was, this probably wasn't Chontra in disguise but that still didn't explain why they were wasting their time following her.

"My prince, perhaps you could explain just why we're pursuing….," began an exceptionally baffled scribe.

"Quiet Rath, she'll hear you!" Presley bit out in a harsh whisper, cutting off the lanky guardian before he could finish his sentence.

Mildly discontented by his prince's rude interruption Rath faintly grumbled to himself, the only outward sign of his displeasure, before he turned his gaze towards his fellow guardian. Calculating, emerald eyes stared into conflicted blue, silently demanding some type of clarification on their current situation. However, the atypically grim expression and tightly pressed lips of the falcon-guardian where a clear indication that the leader of the royal guardians wasn't about to offer any information on the matter either, further adding to the ancient scribe's steadily growing frustration.

"Look, I'll explain later okay," Presley quietly offered, attempting to appease the agitated snake-guardian.

Turning his attention towards Ja-Kal the young prince offered the ancient hunter a pleading look, silently trying to convey that he wouldn't reveal the secret about Emily until Ja-Kal was ready for him to do so. They were all friends, but this was a personal matter and one that the falcon-guardian himself should choose when to divulge to the others.

"Well, I hardly see why…," Rath began the words instantly drying in his throat as the unknown girl they had been following suddenly turned towards them.

Though she wasn't specifically looking at them in particular, the movement had allowed the ancient scribe to finally get a look at her face. A surprised gasp spilled passed his lips at the sight of those unmistakably familiar blue eyes. Though distinctly more feminine they had an uncanny resemblance to Ja-Kal's own cerulean pair. Surely it was just a coincidence; lots of people had blue eyes.

Before he could contemplate on the situation further the peacefulness of the park was suddenly shattered by a chorus of terrified screams. Followed shortly after by a wave of frightened park-goers madly scrambling to get away from something regardless of what was in their path. Unable to do little else Rath watched as the girl with the astonishingly familiar eyes barely leaped out-of-the-way in time before being trampled by a completely panic-stricken mother and her daughter. The expressions on her face clearly signalling her confusion as to what was going on.

After watching his living relative narrowly avoid injury from the mindless stampede of terrified park visitors, an action that had happened too quickly for him to have done much else, Ja-Kal's muscles twitched with the need to protect. Though he wanted to go to her and help keep her safe guarding the prince came first.

Immediately recognizing the rather obvious sign of danger Ja-Kal maneuvered the young prince so he was safely behind Rath and himself. If whatever had frightened the people at the park wanted to get the boy they were going to have to go through his guardians first. Cautiously the falcon-guardian quickly turned his gaze towards the girl worried at what he might see. Though she seemed unharmed Ja-Kal was immensely frustrated that she hadn't taken the opportunity to flee.

For a moment their eyes locked and Ja-Kal watched as the fear and uncertainty on her face suddenly morphed into an expression of surprise and curiosity.

All too soon the cause of the terror made itself known as Scarab's bulky form, clad in insect-like, purple armor, the charcoal-grey of his long, sharp claws glinting in the light, stepped into view. A sinister sneer appeared on the ghastly white portion of his face that was still visible with the armor at the sight of two guardians and a boy.

Numerous clay statutes, the majority of which dressed in the fashions of ancient Egypt, began to approach their master with stiff, robotic-like movements, silently waiting for further instructions. A menacing energy-staff gripped in the clay hand of each mindless warrior.

"I knew if I flooded this city with enough Shabti one of them would spot you eventually, and looks like I was right," Scarab concluded with smug satisfaction. "Now if you don't mind…I'd like my immortality…"

"You're not getting the prince sorcerer!" Ja-Kal stated with unwavering conviction.

"We'll see about that," Scarab dispassionately responded, indicating that he was as worried about the mummies as a man sweeping the ants off his kitchen floor. "When my Shabti finished with you…I'll use your wrappings as dusters."

"With the strength of Ra!"

* * *

Emily's relaxing, casual walk through the nearby park had quickly escalated into a terrifying nightmare. Some unimaginable monster dressed like the insect from hell and his identical, oddly Egyptian minions had unexpectedly terrorized the park turning rational, sensible people into a dangerous, panic controlled stampede.

At the sight of such a horrifying monstrosity Emily was nearly ready to make a terrified flee herself, but there was something stopping her. What if someone needed help? Emily wasn't a hero, not by any sense of the imagination, but despite her heightened alarm she just couldn't allow herself to heedlessly run away.

Her inability to escape was further compounded by the sight of shockingly familiar eyes on an unfamiliar face. Blue eyes were not that uncommon, but the ones of the strange man, now engaged in some conversation with the hellish being, where eerily similar to her own.

"What the hell is going on?" Emily muttered under her breath.

Watching as two of the remaining park-goers magically transformed from their worn, slightly ratty clothes into a flashy set of golden, animal armor one falcon-like with hints of royal blue, the other clearly snake-like, the body coiling around the torso of the owner, with hints of emerald-green, Emily's eyes widened to the size of saucers signalling that she was rapidly reaching her limit for unexplainable, impossible occurrences for the day. Though Egyptology certainly wasn't her area of expertise, Emily couldn't help but notice the Egyptian-like appearance of the two golden-armoured combatants.

This was like something out of a movie.

As Emily tried to come to some logical explanation for what was happening, the temporary calm exploded into a chaotic battle of fiery arrows, hazardous bolts of energy, crumbling soldiers and one deadly looking swords. As she watched the golden-snake man skillfully wield the large sword, the sharp blade slicing easily through the insect-like monster's minions, Emily prayed to any deity listening that he was one of the 'good guys'.

"Get down!" an authoritative male voice ordered.

The young paleontologist barely had enough time to comply before a fiery arrow sailed over her embedding itself in the clay chest of one of the minions that had snuck up on her. The arrow hit with such force that the entire top half of the mindless clay solider soon crumpled into unmoving rubble.

Seemingly satisfied that Emily was no longer in any immediate danger the golden-falcon clad man turned his attention back to the combat at hand.

In the confusion of the attack a young, oddly familiar boy suddenly cried out in terror, viciously clutched in the clay-handed grip of one of the silent minions. The purple insect armoured monster let out a thunderous laugh of triumph at his prize finally captured before sneering in disgust when the snake-man boldly sliced the legs off the clay figure that held the boy rendering it immobile before retrieving the adolescent, shattering the rest of the legless warrior into useless debris.

Emily was so engrossed in the unusual, logically improbably conflict unfolding before her that she didn't notice the lumbering approach of two additional minions. As a rough, clay hand slowly descended on her shoulder Emily instinctively whirled around smacking her attacker with a well-placed fist to the jaw. A rather foolish move on her part as Emily certainly wasn't a skilled fighter.

As her small fist made contact with the hardened clay face of her opponent unimaginable pain sang through the entire limb radiating through the rest of her body. _Trying to hit something literally hard as a rock was…unwise_ she thought with a grimace. What was more insulting was the fact that her merger punch seemed to have done very little to thwart her attacker.

Early on it had become fairly clear that this fight had nothing to do with her, but that didn't mean she was exempt from it. Apparently the one who had started this altercation cared very little about collateral damage, making her seriously question her sanity for not having taken to opportunity to escape earlier.

Sparkling, starry pain exploded behind Emily's eyes as a large, clay fist landed a punch of its own before she could block it. The impact hit her with such force that it knocked her to the group in a tangled flailing of limbs. Pain, barely noticeably over the throbbing of her cheek, flared through her as her body ungraceful hit the hard ground.

As she struggled to get up, the comic store shopping bag now lying forgotten on the ground beside her, the second clay minion lowered its red-electrical staff towards her, its distinctive hum signalling its readiness.

"Get away from her!"

* * *

**As always thank you for reading.**

**I hope this was at least somewhat worth the wait.**

**Unfortunately as I mentioned earlier things are still rather chaotic right now so I'm not sure when I'll be back with an update, but rest assured I will be back with one eventually.**

**Until next time...**

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	4. Chapter 4

**Hello readers ^_^  
**

**Looks like I'll be moving so there may be yet another delay in writing the next part. I really wish I could be more consistent, but it can't be helped.  
**

**My cat was VERY insistent on helping me type so I apologise if I've missed a few of the uber crazy typos.**

**Anyways I think this chapter got away from me a bit. If I'm making them too long let me know and I'll try to make the next chapter shorter.**

* * *

As Ja-Kal and Rath continued to battle valiantly against the seemly inexhaustible supply of Scarab's expendable clay warriors, to keep their prince out of the vile sorcerers clutches, the distinctive roar of a rapidly approaching vehicle could be heard over the sound of argil bodies crumbling under the relentless assault of the royal guardians.

With a type of controlled recklessness, that only a skilled charioteer like Nefer-tina could manage, the Hot-Ra came bursting into view, its large back tires sending up clouds of dust and dirt having long since abandoned any form of conventional roadway. The modern-chariot barely had time to come to a complete stop before its two fully armored occupants leapt from the vehicle and immediately joined the fray.

"Where's Scarab?" Nefer-Tina questioned viciously her whip cranking menacingly as the deadly golden tip smashed into the emotionless face of the nearest Shabti. "If he's so much as laid one finger on the prince I'll…"

"Hmph, get in line," Armon barked in reply as he smashed through several attacking Shabti of his own. With a gracefulness not normally associated with the bulky warrior the ram-guardian effortlessly defeated any clay solider unfortunate enough to cross his path as he made his way towards his comrades.

The sound of a cracking whip and crumbling clay could be added amongst the varying noises of the conflict as Nefer-Tina kept a path to the Hot-Ra clear. No one was touching her baby if she had anything to say about it. Though the cat-guardian was never one to back down from a fight Nefer-Tina knew that a quick getaway may be necessary to protect their prince. Therefore, she would ensure that no clay soldiers hindered the escape of the royal-chariot.

"Come my prince," Rath ordered half-carrying half-dragging a mildly protesting Presley towards the Hot-Ra. With the nefarious sorcerer once again threatening to harm the prince for his own fiendish agenda getting the boy to safety had become the most immediate priority. Any thoughts of the mysterious girl they had followed or her hauntingly familiar eyes were no longer relevant.

They had all sworn to protect prince Rapses and by Ra they would not fail.

Ja-Kal expertly released yet another barrage of flaming arrows into the dwindling numbers of mindless, clay warriors when his eyes caught something that would have caused his blood to run cold, had it still flowed within his veins. Emily, his living relative had been mercilessly knocked to the ground; two Shabti loomed over her threateningly as a glowing energy-staff was held inches from her face.

A nearly palpable rage flared through the falcon-guardian at the mere thought of his kin being harmed by such mindless trash. She wasn't a part of this but Scarab didn't discriminate when it came to battling with his clay minions.

"Get away from her!" He snapped venomously instinctively releasing a pair of fiery arrows at the pair of Shabti that darned to threaten his family.

The least threatening of the pair was predictably broken into a useless pile of lifeless debris when the falcon-guardian's arrow struck him on center mass. The second mindless warrior, the one directly threatening his blood relative, was knocked back enough to spare the girl from a potentially fatal energy blast at point-blank range before joining his twin as unmoving rubble. Though she had avoided a possibly lethal blow Emily had not been fortunate enough to escape the crackling jolt of energy entirely. As a few red tendrils of electricity licked along her neck and shoulder the young paleontologist gave an awkward squawk of pain before crumbling back to the ground completely unmoving.

As minion after mindless, clay minion turned to nothing more than a worthless accumulation of lifeless debris Scarab practically roared out his frustration. How damn hard was it to capture a young boy? There should have been enough Shabti to handle two of those foul, meddlesome guardians of his, and now the other two had to show up before the boy was in his grasp. In steadily growing irritation he silently tightened his grip on the golden cobra staff he held before the thing began to sputter in protest.

"Don't take this out on me!" the golden cobra angrily coughed.

"Quiet Heka!" Scarab viciously snapped as he tightened his grip further. "And let me think!"

The battle was quickly being lost and although the wizened sorcerer could be quiet cunning when he had ample opportunity to plain ahead he was less able to successfully strategize from moment to moment. With his clay army nearly destroyed Scarab left with the choice of either facing the accursed mummies on his own or fleeing. Though he had little doubt that his magic was superior to Rath's in every way he didn't trust his odds in defeating four mummies.

Deciding that escape was the most sensible choice, for now, the thick, purple armor on his back split apart revealing yellow insect-like wings that seemed too small to lift his bulky armor clad form. The delicate appearing wings fluttered violently in a blur of motion creating an eerie buzzing noise as they defied all logic and effortlessly lifted the ancient sorcerer allowing him to escape before any of the mummies could stop him.

"Come back here Scarab!" Armon furiously called, throwing a piece of the last remaining Shabti at the sorcerer's retreating form. Unfortunately for the ram-guardian the launched projectile fell short of its intended target and fell harmlessly to the ground several meters away. The golden-armed warrior gave a disgruntled snort of disapproval before turning his attention back to his teammates. Next time he silently swore he wouldn't let Scarab get away so easily.

At the sight of the ancient advisor's departing form Rath expelled a small sigh of relief. Though there was absolutely no doubt that the vile wizard would attempt to capture the young prince again at least for the moment the boy was safe.

"Come my prince, we must get you to safety," Rath ordered giving the adolescent held protectively under his arm a stern look.

Ignoring the slightly annoyed glare the youth fired at him at the over protectiveness of his guardian Rath continued to usher the young prince towards the awaiting Hot-Ra, eager for the five of them to make a hasty retreat to the sphinx. Scarab may have abruptly ended his attempt to capture the boy but that didn't mean the snake-guardian wanted to stay in the park for any longer than was necessary.

Momentarily consumed by panic Ja-Kal could only stare dumbfounded at the prone, unmoving form laying at his feet. The words _should have protected_ and _family_ were running on endless repeat through his mind. Had his lineage come to an end? Cautiously he knelt beside the motionless girl and attempted to assess her condition. The falcon-guardian was definitely not a healer but he could certainly tell the difference between someone who was alive and someone who was not.

As he gently lifted the young paleontologist so that her back could rest comfortably against his arm a nearly tangible sense of relief washed over him. Though slightly shallow her chest still rose and fell with the inhalation and exhalation of breath signifying life. Anubis had not claimed her. Previous hesitation cast aside Ja-Kal carefully maneuvered the still unconscious girl into his arms before carrying her back to the Hot-Ra. She was his kin and she needed help. He could not call himself an honorable man if he were to leave her there hurt and alone.

Despite every attempt to be as gentle as possible the girl still gave an involuntary groan at being moved. Though it was a sound of pain it still brought a small smile to the falcon-guardian's face because it meant that she was definitely still very much alive. Briefly he had the urge to softly shake the girl just so he could hear her make any kind of sound again but wisely decided against it.

"Ah, there you are Ja-Kal…what in the name of Ra are you doing?" Rath questioned incredulously, finally taking notice of the limp form being carried by the ancient hunter.

A completely bewildered snake-guardian could only stare in astonishment at Ja-Kal's unusual behavior. Though they didn't mean any of the regular citizens of the city any harm they were certainly not responsible for them, and they most assuredly did not bring them back to the Hot-Ra. Honestly, Rath would have expected this type of behavior from Nefer-Tina or even Armon but definitely not from Ja-Kal.

"We absolutely cannot take her with us," Rath protested. The snake-guardian wasn't intentionally trying to be cruel but getting the prince to safety had to be their main priority and revealing themselves to some random commoner could compromise their ability to protect him.

"Oh, lighten-up Rath can't you see she's hurt?" Nefer-tina objectively replied also taking notice of their uncontested leader's unusual cargo.

Ja-Kal was carrying someone who was wounded? Curious Presley stood up from his throne-like seat in the vehicle to get a better look. For a moment he wanted to punch a fist in the air in victory at the sight of the stubborn falcon-guardian actually holding Emily. However, triumph quickly turned to worry when the young prince took in the young paleontologist's bruised face and unmoving form. Presley had wanted the two meet but not like this.

"Is she going to be okay Ja-Kal?" he anxiously questioned. Given the current tension radiating between his guardians, between Rath and Ja-Kal in particular, the reincarnated prince was not at all surprised when he received no response to his inquiry.

The ancient scribe's brow furrowed in thought as he took in the young woman's injuries. He wasn't a healer himself, but among the four of them he was probably the most capable of performing the role of one. She had several scrapes and bruises, there was a particularly angry-looking one that was starting to bloom along her cheekbone, but there was nothing that looked immediately life threatening. The worst of it was a patch of painfully inflamed, reddened skin at her neck. A burn perhaps?

Rath couldn't help the inevitable frown that formed at the memory of another injured commoner they had helped once. Bix Bingsley. The clumsy sales clerk had seemed relatively harmless at first but that hadn't stopped the man from immediately turning on them as soon as a disguised Scarab offered him a shot at fame. An involuntary shiver ran up the snake-guardians spine. Cameras still remained among his most loathed creations of this modern time.

"We can't leave her here," Ja-Kal argued in return.

Rath sighed in defeat. If he hadn't been able to win a similar argument with Nefer-Tina he most certainly wasn't going to win one against Ja-Kal. He was immensely curious as to what was prompting this unusual behavior however. Typically the falcon-guardian's only focus was on protecting the prince. Anything that deviated from that norm, no matter how slight, was certainly out of character.

"Alright fine we'll take her to the nearest sick house," he reluctantly relented.

To Rath's astonishment Ja-Kal actually appeared apprehensive about that suggestion, adding further to the growing list of atypical behavior from the ancient hunter. The girl's injuries didn't seem too serious; though they lacked the civility of ancient Egypt surely the local healers would be adequately able to care for her.

Ja-Kal remained silent as he looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms. His resolve had been dangerously fragile to begin with and actually meeting his kin had been enough to shatter it. Despite trying to convince himself that complete avoidance was in the girl's best interest he just couldn't bring himself to sever the connection between them, weak though it may be, now that it had been made. Regardless of the inconceivable distance between them she was of his blood, and as such he was obligated to protect her. Rationally he knew that the modern healers would have been sufficiently equipped to help her but emotionally…he wasn't comfortable intrusting her care to where he couldn't watch over her.

Was it wise to bring her back to the sphinx though? A sudden wave of guilt flooded through the ancient hunter at a recent memory of his nephew. He had denied Kimas entry to their home, a decision which had initially been viewed as overly paranoid but had turned out to be a wise precaution. The choice to keep Kimas from the sphinx, despite being family, had been made with the intention of protecting the prince. Why should it be any different with this girl? However, Kimas had been resurrected through Set and Anubis' magic under Scarab's instruction so their wariness of his motives had been well founded. Ja-Kal didn't think that it was unreasonable to assume that this girl had no prior knowledge or association with the nefarious wizard. Besides she was currently unconscious and would therefore be unable to lead anyone back to their home on the rare chance his instincts were incorrect.

"We will take her with us back to the sphinx," Ja-Kal stated. "Rath her injuries seem minor can you see to them when we get there?"

"I most certainly will not. Ja-Kal, have you lost your senses? Our first concern is protecting prince Rapses not caring for some…some…common woman," Rath fiercely groused.

Presley loudly cleared his throat to gain the attention of the feuding mummies. Despite their opinions and his own personal naïvety the young prince was absolutely certain that conscious or not Emily was not a danger to him. Why would a someone who studied dinosaurs want the soul of a pharaoh? Nevertheless when it came to their royal duty of protecting him Rath could be just as stubborn and overprotective as Ja-Kal. In order to deescalate the situation the adolescent would exercise his authority as their king.

"Hey, I'm the pharaoh here and I say she comes with us," Presley decreed in the most commanding tone he could manage, a slight blush dusting his cheeks as he stared and the knocked-out paleontologist.

"Are you sure that's wise O'Prince," the snake-guardian warily question a little surprised that the boy would take such an authoritative stance on the matter.

Just what in the name of Ra was so damn special about this girl? She had somehow managed to get their normally cautious leader to act remarkably out of character and now Rapses was pulling rank just to have her brought back to the sphinx. If it wasn't for the fact that he could sense no magic from her he would have accused the girl of weaving some kind of spell.

"It'll be alright Rath. If Ja-Kal trusts her I'm sure she won't harm our prince," Nefer-Tina calmly reasoned. Though arguably the trustworthiness of an individual that was currently unconscious could be somewhat debatable the ancient hunter's approval was sufficient for the cat-guardian to willingly accept this new addition, however temporary, into their home.

As Ja-Kal maneuvered into the awaiting vehicle, Emily still held protectively in his arms, he glanced down at the unawares girl. Could he trust her? His instinct told him yes but was that just because she was family? No. Though he had loved his brother, Arakh, and still did despite his hurtful betrayal his instincts had never trusted him. Nonetheless he would be on his guard. His involvement in her life seemed irreversible now but his duty to Rapses always came first.

Rath gave an arrogant grunt of disproval as he made a dramatic show of folding his arms across his chest glaring at the current occupants of the Hot-Ra, his captious stare landing on the unmoving girl. Something was going on here and it was about time that he got some answers.

"Ja-Kal I think it's time…."

"Hey guys look what I found," Armon joyously called as he made his way over to the Hot-Ra. The de-armored ram-guardian held up a brightly coloured bag for his comrades to view a large, goofy grin stretched across his face. "I think there's a present in here."

It certainly wasn't food, at least the bulky warrior didn't think it was, but the contents of the black and red box inside the colourful bag might still be interesting.

"Not now Armon," Rath responded waving a dismissive hand in the general direction of his fellow guardian.

"Who is she?" the ram-guardian questioned curiously once he got close enough to notice the additional passenger in their vehicle. Neither Ja-kal nor Nefer-Tina seemed at all alarmed by the unexpected stranger's presence; in fact the falcon-guardian was carefully cradling the girl in his lap, so although surprised Armon was content that this was not a threatening situation.

Rath on the other hand was practically bristling with irritation and was practically trying to burn a hole through the knocked-out new comer with his disapproving gaze.

"That, dear Armon is precisely the question I would like to have answered," the snake-guardian contemptuously stated glaring expectantly at Ja-Kal.

Presley placed a reassuring hand on the falcon-guardian's shoulder. The longer they stayed here arguing the longer Emily's wounds, minor though they may be, went unchecked. Not that Rath was a particularly skilled physician but any treatment had to be better than none. However, protectiveness aside it was a well-known fact that Rath wasn't exactly the warmest individual when it came to anyone he considered a commoner. It wasn't hateful it was simply cultural. Status had played an important role to ancient Egyptians. If they were going to have any chance of appeasing the aggravated scribe Ja-Kal was going to have to tell them who she was.

"I think we should tell them," Presley softly urged.

When Ja-Kal nodded the young prince briefly explained about genetics, The Global Genome Project, their participation in the research study and the complete astonishment at the unanticipated discovery of a match.

None of which had any help in alleviating the ancient scribe's current mistrust of the girl. As far as Rath was concerned it all sounded like a bunch of nonsensical rambling…DNA, genetic code, genome…_Humph _modern science indeed.

"That's all very well my prince, but I hardly see what any of that has to do with our leader risking your safety for a modern commoner," Rath expressed with annoyance.

"She is of my blood Rath," Ja-Kal confidently explained in a low whisper.

"She's what?!" came the startled unified cry from three mummies.

The reincarnated prince wasn't at all surprised by their response. After all the royal guardians had never expected to be resurrected into this modern era and it was doubtful that the thought of any living relatives had ever occurred to them. Even though Ja-Kal was the most likely candidate to have his bloodline carry on throughout the ages hearing that an actual living relative existed still had to be a shock.

"She's what…?" Rath hesitantly repeated, not at all certain he had heard Ja-Kal correctly.

"Emily here is Ja-Kal's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-gr eat-great-great-great, I'm probably missing a few greats but you get the point, granddaughter," Presley cheerfully explained to the flabbergasted trio.

Well that certainly explained things. Rath had only caught a glimpse but the momentary look at the girl's familiar blue eyes left little doubt that what the prince was saying was true. No wonder Ja-Kal was being uncharacteristically protective of the girl. The falcon-guardian's devotion to his family was nearly equal to his dedication to his duties as a royal guardian. It truly was a shame that he never had the opportunity to get to know his own son, thanks to Scarab's treachery, but if this girl was indeed related to Ja-Kal than the child must have survived despite his lack of a father.

Briefly the ancient scribe wondered if any of them had any modern relatives currently living somewhere. He had no offspring that he was aware of himself. There had been a time when he thought that Chontra might be the mother of his children but thankfully that had never come to be. Nefer-Tina most certainly hadn't had any children of her own. Disguising herself as a man in ancient Egypt would have become problematic with a swollen belly. As a warrior in pharaoh's army it was possible that the ram-guardian had sired offspring of his own though Armon had never mentioned such.

Conceding defeat Rath gracefully leapt into the last vacant seat in the Hot-Ra before Nefer-Tina sped off towards the sphinx. Ja-Kal was never the type to completely drop his guard, whether it involved family or not, but until she proved herself to him Rath was not going to give her his complete trust just yet.

* * *

Emily's eyes slowly blinked open as she released an incoherent grumble of pain. What the heck had happened to her? It was like every bone and muscle was violently protesting, threatening to leave to leave her body. Groggily the young scientist recalled the events at the park. Giant purple beetle man, eerily emotionless, identical soldiers, golden animal armor strongly reminiscent of something from ancient Egypt, if it wasn't for the throbbing pain Emily would have thought she had stumbled across a play.

Gingerly she placed a hand on her cheek and winced. Nope, definitely not a play. Which begged the question, just what had all that been? Emily's analytical mind could not come to a logical conclusion but she wasn't about to subscribe to anything as preposterous as magic. There was a rational explanation for what she saw she just hadn't figured it out yet.

Continuing with her delicate appraisal of her injuries Emily's slender fingers ran over what she thought were bandages at the junction between her neck and shoulder. Someone had treated her? Maybe she could see about asking a nurse for some pain medication. She wasn't in need of anything serious but some Tylenol would certainly be appreciated.

As Emily finally took notice of her surroundings the beginnings of panic began to lick along her nerves. This was no hospital. Instead of sterile walls, fluorescent lighting and the unmistakable odor of disinfectant she was met with the sight of yellowish-grey stone and…torches? Just were in all the holy hells was she?

Swinging her legs over the stone slab she had been placed on the young paleontologist carefully lowered herself to the matching stone floor below. The place she had awoken was dimly light but there seemed to be a brighter area up a head, perhaps she would have better luck figuring out where she was from there. Moving somewhat stiffly despite the complaining of her aching muscles Emily slowly made her way forward. As she got closer to the area with better lighting she could hear the sound of someone talking.

"…see, right there. I couldn't have gotten out of that, but Talos cheated," enthusiastically explained an unfamiliar male voice.

"Armon, you've seen that video a hundred times already. Can't we watch something else on the magic box?" question a second more feminine voice desperately.

"What? Like Mr. Science?" the first voice happily inquired.

"Never mind," sighed the second voice. "I'm going to go get some air."

At the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps Emily gave a quick panic-induced search for cover but found that there was nowhere to hide. What if these people, whoever they were, were holding her hostage? What if they meant to hurt her? The young scientist quickly reined in her overactive imagination before she completely lost control of it. Such thoughts were ridiculous. She had nothing of exceptional value so there was no reason to keep her hostage, and if they had wished her harm they wouldn't have gone through the trouble of bandaging her up.

Though arguably one couldn't always rationally explain the behavior of potential psychos but Emily chose to ignore that particular fact.

A tall woman with long, white hair started approaching from the opposite direction, quietly mumbling to herself as she walked. She was wrapped in bandages from her neck to her toes, a white kilt with a decorative red sash in the front was wrapped around her waist, and a golden cat head on a thick black cord hung around her neck. Emily was certainly no Egyptologist but there was something oddly Egyptian about this woman.

Looking up from her personal mutterings the white-haired woman's dark eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the young scientist standing in the hallway.

"You're up? Oh Rath is going to be unhappy when he discovers you've wandered off," the woman worriedly stated. Not to mention that Ja-Kal was liable to do a rather panicked search of the sphinx himself when he discovered she had disappeared, but there was no sense in overwhelming the poor girl just yet.

Looking down at the shorter woman Nefer-Tina had to wonder why Rath's bandages had been in such a twist over bringing her back to the sphinx. The cat-guardian supposed there was a certain degree of sense to it; after all it wasn't like they could just invite anyone they met over for a visit. However, surely certain exceptions could be made when family was involved. Ja-Kal trusted her enough to bring her back here and he generally had good judgement of people. Besides there wasn't anything even remotely threatening about her.

She was relatively short, standing at about 5'4. Her long, dark hair currently housed little pieces of grass and leaves from the park, which gave her a rather comical look which was further emphasised by her grass and dirt stained clothes. The slowly darkening bruise on her cheek looked painful, and although Nefer-Tina could no longer see it thanks to Rath's bandaging, she knew that the burn along the girl's neck and shoulder must be hurting as well. This was hardly a villainous mastermind standing before her. This was just a poor girl who'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In fact the most remarkable thing about this woman was her eyes. It was just truly astounding to the cat-guardian of just how much they remind her of Ja-Kal's.

"Since you're up anyway let's go see if we can convince Armon to watch something other than his wrestling video on the magic box," Nefer-Tina calmly suggested gesturing for Emily to follow her back in the direction she had come.

_Magic box?_ Emily silently questioned arching a single eyebrow in puzzlement. She had no idea what the white-haired woman was talking about, but the alternative was to continue standing in the odd, stone hallway, so Emily decided to follow her.

"Back already Nef?" questioned a rather large man sitting on what appeared to be a stone couch, a bunch of empty fast-food wrappers at his feet.

The man was an absolute behemoth. Though Emily couldn't fully gage how tall he was from his seated position his broad shoulders and bulky form nearly filled up the entire stone slab that apparently served as their couch. His single arm was bigger than both her legs and a single, muscular leg was thicker than Emily's entire body. Like the white-haired woman he was completely wrapped in bandages, though the style of his kilt was slightly different and instead of a golden cat head hanging around his neck he had a golden ram head.

"I ran into our guest," Nerfer-Tina explained, jerking a thumb behind herself at Emily.

Finally noticing the young woman's presence a large, almost child-like grin spread across the large man's face, which seemed to contrast sharply with his formidable form. He raised his single arm in friendly greeting before motioning for the two of them come over.

"Come watch the magic box. Would you like a Mr. Beefy Burger?" the one-armed man cheerfully offered rummaging through his accumulated pile of wrappers.

For the briefest of moments Emily was reminded of a child offering some type of food made from play-doh. It was a sweet offer, it really was, but there was no way Emily was eating anything that looked like it come out of a pile of garbage. "Umm…I'm good thanks," she politely declined, not wanting to hurt the man's feelings.

The man didn't seem the least put out by her rejection of his offer and happily munch a newly discovered morsel of food as he shuffled over to make more room on the stone couch.

"Hah! Did you see that?" he questioned excitedly pointing a large finger at the screen in front of them.

"Armon," Nefer-Tina began with obvious exasperation, "we have a guest. Don't you think we should give her a chance to decide what to watch on the magic box?"

This was the magic box? It was a fricken TV, there was nothing magical about it. With the large man's surprisingly child-like nature Emily had to wonder if maybe she was on some kind of bizarre kids show and started looking around for the cameras. Finding nothing she graciously accepted the offered remote and started flipping through the channels.

* * *

As Ja-Kal drove back from dropping the prince off at home he wondered how Emily was faring back at the sphinx. The falcon-guardian offered a silent prayer up to Ra that the girl's prolonged unconsciousness wasn't a sign of a more serious ailment.

Rapses had insisted that he be allowed to stay at the sphinx until she had awoken. Arguing that the sight of at least one person not completely wrapped in bandages, who actually understood modern terminology would help to ease the girl's inevitable fear and confusion when she regained consciousness.

However, the boy's mother wanted him home for dinner so home is where he would be.

Until he got to know his many-times great-granddaughter better limiting the young prince's interaction with her was probably for the best. Ja-Kal trusted his instincts but one could never be too careful.

Parking the Hot-Ra in its usual place the falcon-guardian was instantly confronted by Rath, the agitation and annoyance nearly coming off the lankier man in waves.

"You're new little family member is gone Ja-Kal," the snake-guardian informed almost accusingly.

Worry immediately started to flare to life in the ancient hunter. Had something terrible happened to her in his absence? Where her injuries worse than they thought? Had his instincts about her been incorrect? "What do you mean she's gone Rath?"

"Well, I had finished bandaging her and went to go check something in one of my scrolls. When I returned the room I had left her in was empty," the ancient scribe begrudgingly explained.

He just knew bringing the girl back to the sphinx was a bad idea, and now she was freely prancing about the sphinx unescorted doing who knows what.

Ja-Kal let out a small sigh, his rapidly building anxiety quickly calming. The prince was safe with his mother, if the girl was moving about than her wounds obviously weren't serious, and there were no sounds of fighting coming from anywhere within the sphinx. This probably wasn't quiet the devastating breach in their security that Rath was making it out to be. "Have you tried looking for her?"

Rath was about to answer an immediate yes before he paused. He'd been so concerned over the girl's unexpected disappearance from where he'd left her, and the detrimental effects her unsupervised touring of the sphinx might have on them that he hadn't actually bothered to search for her. Pondering over his rather glaringly obvious oversight the snake-guardian gave a tired sigh. Perhaps he was being overly paranoid, but someone needed to be. Family or not the girl was a stranger and it would simply be unwise to immediately trust her. Not when there was the safety of the prince to think about.

"Rath, I'm sure she just went wandering off a bit when no one was here to greet her when she woke up," Ja-Kal reasoned, feeling mildly guilty. "Let's go find the others maybe they've seen her."

"Very well," Rath agreed.

* * *

The first thing Emily did once she had control of the remote was flip to a station that had the current time. Though physical she was now dreading it she still had a lecture to give at the museum later that evening. It was 20 minutes after 5. The lecture was scheduled for 8 o'clock. At least she had some time before she needed to broach the subject of her leaving. The white-haired woman and the one-armed man seemed nice enough now, but their attitude might quickly change when Emily voiced she couldn't stay in this place, where ever this place was, indefinitely.

Knowledge of the present time accomplished the young scientist continued surfing through channels until she came across an outdated documentary on the cretaceous period. Well this was certainly her element, although truthfully she'd have been just as happy with a superhero movie, or some cartoons. Too bad it was an antiquated piece though, well mostly, some of the theories still held true. In her mind something that discussed whether or not Nanotyrannus was truly its own separate species or a juvenile Tyrannosaurus would have been more interesting, but those documentaries were rare.

"Can we please watch the horseless chariots?" the white-haired woman pleaded, not at all pleased with Emily's viewing selection.

Nefer-Tina had been polite in offering their guest control over the magic box but she was just as bad for wanting to watch all the boring, talky, science stuff that Armon was. Granted her choice in viewing used more complicated vocabulary that they didn't ask the viewers to repeat, but it was still the same uninteresting stuff.

"Horseless chariots?" Emily asked in puzzlement.

The young scientist was completely perplexed as to what the white-haired woman could have been referring to. She had a basic understanding of what a chariot was. A two-wheeled carriage with absolutely no suspension. A lot of ancient cultures had them at one point or another, but they were all typically drawn by two or more horses. What was a horseless chariot then? Was it only the carriage portion that the white-haired woman wanted to watch? Emily wasn't one to judge but that seemed like a pretty specific interest. Did they even have something like that on cable?

Either way Emily was more than happy to relinquish control of the remote. "Here," she said, handing the rectangular control over, "This is an outdated documentary anyway, most of the theories have already been disproven."

"Hmph…and what would you know about it?" Rath commented dryly as he entered the room followed closely by Ja-Kal.

After a quick search of a completely quiet sphinx it had not taken to two elder mummies long to conclude that the girl was likely watching the magic box with Armon and Nefer-Tina, assuming the cat-guardian hadn't already taken off for the evening.

Rath hadn't meant to sound condescending, but after years of being considered the most intelligent member of the group, both back in ancient Egypt and now, coming across as arrogant had merely become second nature. It wasn't like he knew what the tiny people in the magic box were talking about but when it came to matters of academics few ever questioned his opinions.

This girl would likely not be the exception.

Emily bristled at the comment. She was still very young in her field, and she would fully admit she still had a lot to learn, both scientifically and technologically, but to have someone insinuate that she didn't know enough to tell the difference between current theories and those that were now outdated was a slight she could not ignore. Disregarding the voice of self-preservation warning her against doing anything that might cause these strange individuals to become cross with her Emily shot to her feet before glaring heatedly at the two recent arrivals.

"Hey, you want to discuss paleontology with me? Bring it." she stated challengingly.

Rath was completely torn between being offended and being intrigued by the girl. He couldn't recall the last time someone had the audacity to challenge him.

Ja-Kal couldn't help the smirk that tugged at the corner of his mouth. The fiery temper of the girl reminded him so much of his wife. A pang of sadness clutched at his heart at her memory. Tia was normally a very sweet woman, but she did have quite the temper. Particularly when she felt that she or someone she cared about had been insulted. It was strange seeing such a familiar trait coming from someone who was still largely unfamiliar. As Ja-Kal watched the girl's blue eyes shift between Rath and himself he began to wonder just what other characteristics had survived through the generations.

The discovery of such things would have to wait, right now Ja-kal needed to calm the escalating tension in the room.

"Apologies young one, Rath did not mean to offend you," Ja-Kal soothed.

Emily wrinkled her nose and arched an eyebrow at the comment but said nothing. This was just all too weird. So weird in fact that the young scientist was starting to question whether she was still dreaming or perhaps suffering for some form of mild brain damage.

"What is going on here? Who are you guys?" Emily inquired warily.

In retrospect those were probably the first two questions she should have asked the moment she had regained consciousness, if she had in fact regained it, but her mind had been so busy trying to piece together the bizarre puzzle of her current circumstances that actually asking hadn't occurred to her until now.

"Why don't you have a seat and we'll introduce ourselves."

* * *

**As always thank you for reading. Reviews and comments are always welcome.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello Readers, :)  
**

**I'm back with a new chapter! Sorry about the long wait. The move went well, cats and I made it successfully to our new place. Yay! Ugh packing is always such a nightmare though, especially when you end up doing most of it yourself. Oh well, couldn't be helped. **

**Anyways on with the story!**

* * *

A small clay pot smashed angrily against modern concrete walls fashioned to look like ancient sandstone, forcing its contents to drip carelessly on to the floor in thick, heavy globs. The pieces of the argil container, now broken beyond repair, fell to the ground unnoticed as the figure that had launched the pot at the defenseless wall continued with his enraged pacing.

"I nearly had him…then the rest of those meddlesome mummies had to show up and ruin everything," Scarab hissed, his bony white fingers searching mindlessly for another projectile that could be thrown, giving a tangible vision to the blinding fury that he felt.

He was the greatest sorcerer in all of Egypt capturing a mere child, even a royal one, should have been a simple task, no matter how many bothersome guardians the pharaoh saw fit to assign the boy. It had all been so much easier back in Egypt. As the pharaoh's vizier Scarab had been able to roam freely throughout the royal palace, granting him ample opportunity to corner the naïve young prince and spin his deceptive lies. Easily maneuvering the royal brat to a place of his choosing before any of the boys guardians were any the wiser.

Sadly things were not quite as simple in this modern era. The accursed magic of the pharaoh protected the new incarnation of the Egyptian prince shielding him from Scarab's sorcery. For all his power Scarab could not use magic to force the boy to come to him without the company of his interfering guardians. Pity. Things would certainly be considerably less aggravating if he could. If that wasn't frustrating enough not only could he not manipulate the boy like some lifeless piece on a senet board he couldn't even learn the boy's modern identity. _Rath's doing no doubt_ he thought with an angry snarl.

Luck had certainly not been on the sorcerer's side as the name Rapses could not be found in the great yellow book of tracking that this modern world called a phonebook.

Oh how Scarab would have loved to have been able to snatch the sniveling little brat right out of his bed before he could even think to summon his protectors. What delicious irony it would have been to callously inform those retched mummies that they had failed in their royal duty for a second time. He would certainly make sure to savor their pathetic failure like a fine wine before he ensured that they suffered the same fate as their beloved prince.

If only it were that simple, but no Scarab, the greatest sorcerer the world has ever know, was continually thwarted by a modern child and a bunch of walking rags.

Consumed once again in the flames of bitter rage Scarab's withered, pale fingered clutched viciously around their next victim before furiously throwing it against the unsuspecting concrete. It too shattered into a dazzling shower of brown shards, its contents leaving a powdery stain where the clay projectile had exploded against the wall.

"It was a brilliant plan Scarab. You'll get him next time for sure," Heka nervously commented hoping to appease the enraged sorcerer.

The golden cobra eyed Scarab's erratic movements warily from the elaborately painted vase, which served as her home when she was not made to function as the sorcerer's staff, ready to disappear to safety should her master wish for a more responsive target.

"Don't patronize me," Scarab growled. "I obviously need a better plan. Those vile mummies must have a weakness…" The sorcerer trailed off as he continued with his erratic infuriated pacing. If he could devise a clever plan to do away with the mummies, or at least weaken their numbers, then the boy would be that much easier to capture.

"Good luck finding it," Heka smugly fired back before diving into the safety of her vase, narrowly avoiding the ancient wizard's third hastily grabbed projectile.

"I can do without your smart remarks," Scarab snarled dryly.

Despite his ambition Scarab knew that attempting to rid himself of all four mummies at once was a plan that was certainly doomed to failure. However, eliminating a single mummy at a time was a scheme that held more promise. Ja-Kal would be the obvious first choice. Scarab had despised the self-righteous hunter from the moment Amenhotep had allowed the lowly peasant to step one loathsome foot within the palace. The idiot had even gone so far as to make the loyal dog his royal huntsman. Thin, dry lips twisted in a sneer at the ancient memory. Yes, Ja-Kal would be an excellent choice indeed. Personal hatred aside, as their apparent leader if Scarab could succeed in bringing him down the rest would surely follow.

If only the insufferable guardian had a weakness that Scarab could exploit.

"I don't know…maybe you could use that girl," the golden cobra suggested in a bored tone.

There was probably nothing to it, the mummies had been known to be soft-hearted fools on occasion, but if it got her ill-tempered master to stop throwing things why not bring it up? They were quickly running out of pots and Heka certainly wasn't going to be responsible for cleaning up this mess.

Instantly snapped from his current train of thought Scarab abruptly turned his full attention to his familiar, his cold eyes burned into the golden serpent as he voicelessly commanded it to continue but the troublesome thing remained silent.

"Girl? What girl?" he demanded to know.

"You didn't notice?" the cobra questioned arrogantly, arching a golden eye ridge. "While the mummies where busy turning your Shabti into useless rubble a single modern girl had remained in the park."

Scarab's eyes narrowed to angry slits as annoyance radiated off him in waves. There had been plenty of modern commoners at the park what did he care if one had been too stupid to flee. "Stop wasting my time," he hissed. "The presence of one modern girl hardly concerns me."

"Ja-Kal seemed awfully concerned with protecting that girl…almost as much as the prince I'd say," Heka nonchalantly added.

That got the sorcerer's attention.

Thin mouth curling into a cruel grin, revealing yellow teeth, Scarab swiftly closed the distance between himself and the large elaborately painted vase that served as his familiar's off duty home. With a well-practiced ease his bony, pale fingers encircled around the neck of the serpent, just below its fringe, as he brought the creature close to his face.

"Heka you're beautiful," Scarab declared planting a dry kiss on the tip of the serpent's nose.

"Why boss, I didn't know you cared," she responded coyly.

"I don't," Scarab cruelly snapped shoving the golden serpent away.

* * *

Emily sat nervously on the uncomfortable stone couch, wide blue eyes darting warily between each member of this strange group she inexplicably found herself in the company of as they formed a semi-circle around her. Struggling to remain calm Emily couldn't completely prevent her anxiety from spiking sharply at the sight of so many unfamiliar faces towering over her. It was true that she did a lot of public speaking and was therefore well used to large crowds that were loaded with unknown strangers, but this was different. There was no podium to hide behind, no memorized speech to fall back on, no visual aids that could offer a distraction, nothing but Emily and the strange people surrounding her.

And strange they certainly were.

As her eyes moved feverishly over each unusual individual, finally taking in just how different they truly were, her jaw nearly hit the floor in a blatant gawk at the absolute oddity of their appearance. They were all almost completely wrapped from head to toe in worn, linen bandages that had been stained with age. Only the single female member of the group allowed her hair to fall free in a great thick mane of white down her back. The garments they wore were remarkably simple, if a little out of place; basic linen kilts each baring some form of decoration in varying colours. Other than necklaces, each a single golden figure held on a black cord, they wore precious little else, not even shoes. They truly were strange indeed.

_How had I not noticed? _ Emily couldn't help but wonder. She'd been in the company of the large one-armed man and the white-haired woman for some time but she felt as though she was only just seeing them. Strangely nothing about this bizarre collection of people seemed at all modern. Emily wasn't entirely sure but they appeared almost…Egyptian. Was there a Renaissance Fair equivalent for Ancient Egypt?

Although there was an undeniable similarity between the four of them, all wore similar kilts, all had gold pendants, and all were excessively bandaged that hardly meant that any of them could ever be mistaken for the other, regardless of gender. Eyes still darting erratically over each member of this bizarre group Emily could easily tell them apart.

When she had accepted the invitation to speak at the San Francisco Museum Emily had certainly not expected this. If she had she might have whole-heartedly declined the offer. As her eyes swept cautiously over the strange individuals and the odd stone walls that surrounded them, some with what appeared to be hieroglyphics freshly carved into them; Emily couldn't help but wonder why she was there. What could they want with her? Emily's mind was quick to provide any number of unpleasant possibilities.

Still aside from keeping her here, wherever here was, this unusual group had done little more than bandage her up and let her watch TV. This could hardly be considered the sinister, dispassionate work of coldblooded killers. Reigning in her chaotic imagination before it completely swept her away in a tide of unbridled hysteria Emily sat quietly trying to at least give the appearance of being composed.

As if sensing her unease the one-armed behemoth of a man, who she had been casually watching television with as if it had been the most normal thing in the world, offered her a lopsided grin, which appeared almost out of place on his large, bull-like head. For his massive size, a terrifying mountain of muscle and bone, such an ordinary act made him seem no more threatening than a giant puppy. Though he remained silent, like a well-trained solider acutely aware that this was not the time for him to speak, his friendly brown eyes soundlessly assured her that everything would be alright.

Her confidence slightly bolstered Emily began to feel the rapidly growing flames of her anxiety start to settle. That is until her gaze landed on another member of the group.

Any comfort Emily might have felt from the simple human gesture the one-armed man had offered was immediately body slammed back down when she caught sight of the lanky man in the tall, green and gold headdress glowering at her. His sharply angular face and distinguishing headgear seemed to emphasise the distrustful frown he wore as he burned into her with calculating green eyes. Immediately she recognized him as the one who had so brazenly dismissed her knowledge of paleontology and had to bite back an angry snarl of her own.

_Arrogant arse. _Who did this man think he was? Deciding what she did and didn't know without even knowing her! Emily would certainly never claim to be the absolute best in her particular field but she'd be damned if she would allow this pompous man to disregard her so easily.

The tall, spindly man continued to glare at her, his sharply angular chin pointed painfully high as though just to be looked at by him was an honor Emily would never fully appreciate, and certainly didn't deserve. For a moment she held his heated gaze wondering what she might have done to warrant such a scathing look before wisely turning her attention in a less hostile direction.

"I am Ja-Kal," the tall man, somewhere between the lanky man and the giant in build, with a bandage running across the bridge of his nose confidently introduced, as he placed a large hand against his linen wrapped chest. "And this is Rath, Armon and Nefer-tina," he continued gesturing calmly to each member in turn.

As he said their names the white-haired woman, Nefer-Tina, offered Emily a brief flick of her wrist in the vague semblance of an affable wave, a gentle smile painted on her lips. The lopsided grin on the one-armed Armon had spread into an incredibly wide smile that threatened to spit his face in half as he offered her a single acknowledging tilt of his head. In contrast to their friendly greetings the lanky man known as Rath immediately snapped his spine impossibly straight, his arms, one baring some sort of decorative bracer, were folded as he continued to glare down his nose at Emily with a look of barely concealed contempt.

Not for the first time Emily caught herself wondering what she might have done to so thoroughly aggravate this man. It was as if he'd caught her spitting on his grandmother's grave or something. Deciding this was not the best time for a verbal confrontation Emily pushed aside her desire to viciously slap the annoying man and shifted her attention back to the one who had given the introductions.

This Ja-kal, his plain white kilt neatly decorated with touches of blue and gold, seemed to have a thick aura of authority that surrounded him. _Their leader perhaps?_ However, he didn't seem like the type who had ruthlessly fought and clawed his way to such a position. More like the type who had such a role thrust upon him and was making the best of it. Then again, Emily didn't know him from a hole in the ground so what did she know?

As she eyed him curiously in silent appraisal his hauntingly familiar blue eyes locked with her own, a mixture of caution and warmth swirling within their cerulean depths. Unable to look away for a moment Emily felt an odd sense of closeness with this strange man. There was just something about his eyes, something she couldn't quite place.

Dismissing the notion that she had some sort of emotional connection with a complete stranger as being utterly absurd Emily quickly broke eye contact and resumed her visual assessment of the strange room and its even stranger inhabitants.

"I'm Emily, Emily Halverson," she politely replied, feigning a confidence she was presently far from feeling.

With all the necessary introductions accomplished the burly Armon flopped unexpectedly into the empty space beside Emily before cheerfully engulfing her with his muscular arm in a friendly one-armed hug as though they were long-time friends. Although she still felt nervous and couldn't even begin to understand why he would be acting as though they were friends as Emily stared at his wide grinning face, eyes squinted closed from the effort she couldn't help but smile in return.

"You were lucky we were able to stop those Shabti," Armon cheerfully stated, giving Emily another brief squeeze with his well-muscled arm.

"We? Armon?" Nefer-Tina muttered rhetorically in a dry tone, her grey-blue eyes shifting from the burly one-armed man to look pointedly at Ja-Kal.

Emily hardly felt lucky but if her choices where either being here or being in the unfortunate company of whatever that purple monstrosity was then yes, she was indeed lucky. Feeling the near crushing pressure of her anxiety slowly begin to ebb at such a remarkably companionable, all be it unexpected, gesture Emily could only glance up dumbly at the large man before finally finding her voice. Though she couldn't even begin to comprehend what had actually happened in the park, possibly some sort of outdoor performance that had gone horribly awry, the fact remained that these strange people had offered their assistance. She was therefore obligated to show them some proper gratitude in return.

Her parents would have been absolutely appalled with her if she did anything less.

"I don't know exactly what happened but….thank you," Emily sincerely offered with a slightly nervous smile.

"Well _Emily_," Rath spoke as though the name left a sour taste in his mouth, "you were quite fortunate not to be seriously harmed. Next time I suggest you copy the sense of your fellow citizens and run."

Swallowing a question that had been burning on her tongue since she first caught sight of the lanky man glaring skeptically at her Emily offered a stiff nod in response, he wasn't exactly wrong after all, before turning her attention back to the man with the uncannily familiar blue eyes.

Releasing a barely audible sigh Ja-Kal stared over at Rath, a look of worry and understanding contorted his handsome features before he turned to Emily, the hint of an apology in his eyes.

"So…are you all in a music band or something?" Emily questioned uncertainly.

Perhaps there was some plausible explanation for their unusual appearance that was completely reasonable, and wasn't the least bit deranged or unpleasant. It certainly wasn't unheard of for a band, either struggling or famous; to adopt some form of costuming that helped them to stand out. And with their strongly Egyptian themed costuming, stand out they most definitely did.

"Haha! That's a good one. Maybe we could use that sometime," Nefer-Tina suggested between chuckles.

"Why…of all the impudent….," Rath sputtered indignantly.

"No, we are not a music band," Ja-kal calmly began, effectively cutting Rath off. "We are….with the museum."

It wasn't exactly a lie; they were from the museum, just not in a way the people of this modern era would typically expect. Suppressing another sigh Ja-Kal found himself wishing that he had returned to the sphinx with Rapses, as the boy had requested, instead of taking the young prince home. He was still undeniably apprehensive about allowing the two to interact; the prince had to be protected at all costs and kin or not Emily was still an unknown stranger, but surely this would all have been a lot easier with the help of someone from this time. The prince did have a knack for coming up with plausible explanations for things after all.

Great waves of relief flooded over Emily as the world once again made sense. They were with the museum. Of course. The San Francisco museum was well-known for its Egyptian exhibits so it would make sense that they would have costumed tour guides. That still left the question of where she was though. Not that it mattered. She'd have to be on her way soon anyway. Broaching a subject she had been avoiding until now Emily nervously chewed on her lower lip as her eyes shifted from person to person.

"Umm…not to seem ungrateful but I really should be going. I'm supposed to be giving a lecture this evening and I need to get back to my hotel," she warily explained. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as she waited anxiously for one of them to respond. Would they let her leave?

Appearing completely unbothered by her statement Armon lifted his great muscular mass off the stone couch in a full bodied stretch. Turning slightly he offered Emily another wide grin as his large hand gently ruffled her long dark hair before calmly lumbering towards the only visible exit, apparently having decided that his presence was no longer necessary.

"I'm going to go get a snack," he happily informed the room.

"Didn't you just eat?" Nefer-Tina inquired teasingly, pointing a slender finger at the abundant fast food wrappers that were scattered around the stone couch.

"So? Introductions make me hungry,"Armon nonchalantly replied over his shoulder.

"Everything makes you hungry big guy," she returned with a laugh.

Armon gave a good-natured shrug of his large shoulders in response before he disappeared out of the room.

Staring at the now empty doorway where her comrade had been Nefer-Tina momentarily thought about following after him, she was feeling a little hungry herself, but decided against it. Leaving Rath and Ja-Kal alone with Emily, particularly with Rath's present feelings towards the girl, could be a recipe for disaster and the poor girl already looked terrified enough as it was. She hid it well, but all the little hints of anxiety that broke through her veneer of confidence didn't go unnoticed by Nefer-Tina. Not that she could blame the girl. Who wouldn't feel nervous in a situation like this?

Ja-Kal was also well aware of the girl's obvious unease and wished desperately that he could comfort her. Unfortunately attempting to sooth the girl by embracing her in the protective safety of his arms might only serve to frighten her further. Reluctantly Ja-Kal stayed where he was, silently trying to offer her any reassurance he could with his eyes. She was his family, his blood. Nothing would harm her. Nothing.

After having watched Armon and how easy it was for the bulky warrior to be friendly with the girl, as though they had been long-time companions, Ja-Kal couldn't help feeling slightly jealous. He quickly brushed the feeling aside however, jealousy in any fashion was not a suitable trait for a leader to have. For all his lack of brain, as Rath had so obstinately argued on many occasions, their one-armed comrade had always been the best socializer among them. The ability to make others feel at ease was a skill the one-armed man excelled at. Sadly, he was rarely ever recognized for it.

Rath watched the girl suspiciously, his green eyes carefully cataloguing ever action no matter how mundane. Ja-Kal and the other may have been entirely convinced that she was of no harm to their prince but Rath would not be so easily swayed. He supposed he did owe her some grudging acknowledgement for not having completely turned into a blubbering idiot by their presence however. In his experience the people of this time tended to react rather poorly to their undisguised appearance and not having to listen to banish-like shrieking had been a rather welcome change. Despite his begrudging praise the girl clearly needed to learn how to show proper respect to those who were clearly above her station. A lesson, that should Ja-Kal decide to allow her among them, Rath would be more than happy to teach.

"I will escort you back to your temporary home," Ja-Kal confidently affirmed.

There wasn't really a need for such a thing, but Ja-Kal was nothing if not overly cautious. Besides if he accompanied her back to the hotel he could easily blindfold her on the way out in order to keep their present location a secret. An action that was as much for her safety as it was the prince's. He would also rest better in his sarcophagi knowing that she was safe and could be easily found if necessary.

Rath briefly nodded his head in affirmation. He was more than happy to have the girl leave the sphinx but ensuring that they could continue to keep tabs on her was a wise decision.

Emily sincerely hoped that the man was joking, but judging by his expression he apparently wasn't. _Great…just great_ she grumbled silently to herself. She was relieved that the situation wasn't going to take on some sadistic horror film twist, but that didn't mean she wanted one of these weirdos knowing where she was staying, regardless of how oddly safe she felt with him.

"Rath could take you if you prefer," Ja-Kal offered sensing her uncertainty, ignoring said man's obvious bristling at such a proposal.

"I could take her," Nefer-Tina happily suggested.

"No, the prince will be expecting you soon," Ja-Kal calmly replied.

_Yes, being escorted back to the hotel by that contemptuous man, who belittles my knowledge and does nothing but glares at me, would be the realization of all my dreams_ Emily thought bitterly. They seemed quite adamant on having someone bring her back to the hotel so if her choices were either Ja-Kal, a kind man who she felt strangely safe with, or Rath, an egotistic jerk that irritated her, she'd pick Ja-Kal.

"That's alright, I'm sure he has _better _things to do," she answered in a mildly mocking tone.

She had no idea if the man actually had anything to do, other than glare at people, but frankly Emily didn't care.

The sarcastic undercurrent of her seemingly innocent comment did not go unnoticed by the ancient scribe. Fighting back an affronted growl at the girl's bold audacity to mock him Rath opted instead to increase the intensity of his stern glare, attempting to burn a hole straight through her with his green eyes. Really, the youth of this era had no respect. Though he would be loathed to admit it, Rath was a little surprised that the girl had been able to withstand his continuous scrutiny. Many a student had withered under his hard, glowering stare, but this girl only seemed to become increasingly irritated by it. He found that mildly intriguing.

"This way," Ja-Kal guided gently leading Emily out of the room.

"Well it's about time she left," Rath characteristic shrill tone commented.

"Oh come on Rath, she's not that bad," Nefer-Tina attempted to reason.

She knew it was pointless. Rath would warm up to the girl when he chose to and not a moment before. She did understand his apprehension, if only vaguely. There was always the safety of the prince to consider. If that girl was a threat to the prince however, Nefer-Tina would eat her whip.

"Hmmph," Rath muttered in reply.

* * *

Emily was immensely relieved when they made it back to the hotel. She had been greatly alarmed when Ja-Kal had ever so cautiously requested that he blindfold her until they had reached the road, but once the scrap of fabric had been removed she almost wished it had been left on. Emily had no words to describe the unique vehicle they were traveling in. Opulent red seats embellished with gold trim filled the car's abnormally spacious cabin; the one in the very back had even resembled a throne of some kind. Gold and hieroglyphic details were everywhere. There had been no windows just a single glass dome. Even if she had bothered to look Emily knew she wouldn't have found a recognizable car logo anywhere.

Judging from its bizarre appearance and ostentatious quality Emily guessed that it probably had to be some sort of company vehicle. Unless Ja-Kal had very…eccentric…tastes?

Just how far would the San Francisco Museum go to promote their Egypt exhibits? Emily knew that they're main benefactor, Mr. Harris Stone, had a lot of money but this was ridiculous. Was the extraordinary vehicle even street legal?

If only the paleontology department had such a generous donator.

Unfortunately her relief had been short lived when Ja-Kal, her ever watchful companion, insisted on escorting her straight to her room. Emily had hoped that he would merely drop her off in the parking-lot or at the very most see her to the lobby, but nope apparently something might happen to her if he didn't see her directly to her suite. Although his rather peculiar protectiveness towards her was somewhat endearing Emily couldn't fathom were it could possibly be coming from.

Perhaps he just felt morally obligated because of what had happened in the park?

Thankfully he had the foresight to change out of his work costume and into something decidedly more normal, albeit noticeably worn, before they left. The bandages still remained however, but Emily assumed that those were probably quite time consuming to get on and off.

As the elevator doors softly chimed open to the tenth floor Emily unenthusiastically lead Ja-Kal down the immaculately groomed, softly lit hallway towards her room door. Even if she had been alone she wouldn't have exactly have skipped merrily. She was still quite sore from her unexpected ordeal in the park after all. As they walked silently Emily had to wonder what was going on in the strange museum employee's head. The more she thought on that however, the more she had to start questioning what was going on in her own. Allowing a strange man to follow her to her hotel room? Really? _Body found in dumpster, beaten and unrecognizable_ she humorlessly thought. That didn't feel likely though. Emily wasn't exactly thrilled with his persistent company, but she couldn't say that she felt at all threatened by him.

It was odd that she felt so oddly comfortable around a complete stranger.

Pausing in front of a door of highly polished wood that had 1008 in shiny, metallic numbers at the top Emily fumbled through her pockets until she retrieved a white, plastic key card. Expertly inserting the device into the stainless steel lock there was a gentle click before she pressed on the handle and swung the door open.

"I'm going to get cleaned up," she informed Ja-Kal "Feel free to make yourself at home."

Emily had absolutely no idea how long he intended to stay, if he intended to stay at all, but there was no reason not to be at least a semi-gracious host while he was here. Ja-kal, who had said surprisingly little since they had left the sphinx, nodded once in acknowledgement as he meticulously inspected the room, his blue eyes taking in every detail.

Releasing a nearly inaudible sigh Emily allowed Ja-Kal to soundlessly investigate the room. He could assume himself while she got herself presentable for tonight's lecture.

As Ja-Kal looked around the room of dark furbished wood and white soft linens a gentle smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. There were no clothes strewn about, no garbage piled around, and no miscellaneous clutter to speak of. He had seen the state the prince often kept his room in and was surprised the boy could ever find anything in it at all. This was a refreshing change. There was a noticeable order to things. Everything was in its proper place, even the items that clearly belonged to the girl. Apparently Tia wasn't the only one Emily took after.

Walking around the room a smooth rectangular object sitting neatly on a polished surface of wood caught his eye. Though it was considerably flatter it had a screen remarkably similar to the magic box back at the sphinx, below the screen were a bunch of black tiles with odd white markings on them. Ja-Kal had no idea what they might be for. Curiously brushing his fingers over the strange little blocks he nearly jumped out of his bandages when the once blank screen suddenly came to life.

An image now appeared of a little girl in a simple white sundress covered in tiny blue flowers. Her dark hair was tied in a ribbon on either side of her head. A wide, jubilant smile stretched across her pudgy little face, and her blue eyes gleamed with pride as she stood on tiptoes to present something clutched in her small hand to the smiling man before her. The man, with dark hair like the girl's, appeared to be laughing good-naturedly at the joyously offered treasure. Staring at the remarkably lifelike image Ja-Kal realized that this was a precious moment between a father and his daughter, somehow captured and preserved in remarkable detail for all time.

A heavy sense of regret squeezed at his un-beating heart. Thanks to Scarab's vile treachery Ja-Kal had been denied innocent little moments like this with his own son. Although she didn't know it yet, Emily was the only kin he had left in this strange world he found himself in. He would never forsake his royal duty to the pharaoh, the prince would always come first, but he knew he had to keep this girl safe. Family was important to Ja-Kal, whether it was 3500 years ago or now, and he wanted something more than just worn scraps and faded memories to cherish.

* * *

"How do I look?" Presley questioned, restlessly fiddling with his tie.

"Quite presentable my prince," Rath responded proudly, taking in the boys untypically polished appearance.

Instead of his usual attire, green shorts and beige shirt, the prince had returned to the sphinx smartly dressed in a grey suit with a crisp white dress shirt and solid blue tie, which he seemed to forever be fidgeting with. Not that Rath was all that surprised as he watched the prince patiently. The boy did so rarely wear such odd ceremonial decrements. Even Rapses crown of unruly, shaggy brown hair had been tamed.

"May I inquire what the occasion is?" Rath asked curiously the slightest hint of concern in his tone.

Deciding that the silky strip of material around his neck was a lost cause Presley let the annoying object fall limply against his shirt. Why had these stupid things been invented anyway? Knowing that the mummies had taken Emily back to the sphinx Presley had tried to return to the home of his royal guardians as quickly as possible. During dinner he had practically been bouncing off the walls with nervous energy. Presley wasn't at all worried about the mummies. Despite Rath incessant grumbling not one of them would ever harm Emily, and the girl was tiny, Armon could stop her with his big toe if for some unforeseeable reason she decided to respond violently to them.

Presley couldn't really picture that happening though. No, what he had been worried about most had been her reaction to the mummies. He had finally got the frustratingly stubborn Ja-Kal to accept that he really did want to get to know Emily, regardless of all his protests to the contrary. The last thing the young prince wanted to see happen was for their potential to form a relationship be abruptly cut short because Emily was afraid of them.

Plus he would likely have less opportunity to talk to her himself if the mummies truly terrified her.

Thankfully, according to Armon and Nefer-Tina things had gone surprisingly well. The young paleontologist had been understandably nervous, but she hadn't completely freaked out. That was a good sign right? Ja-Kal and Emily were even spending a little time together while he took her back to the hotel. Presley was so thrilled by this news that he had to struggle to stop himself from leaping in the air in an impromptu celebration. Better Ja-Kal keep his distance? Bah! What a load of nonsense.

The one-armed warrior and the charioteer had liked the girl well enough, but Rath still had a rather sour opinion of her it seemed. The ancient scribe's stubbornness could rival Ja-Kal's sometimes. Although he had been noticeably less vocal since the last time he saw him Presley could tell that Rath was biting back a few choice comments of his own on the subject of Emily. Regardless of the snake-guardian's currently unfavorable attitude towards the girl Presley took some comfort in knowing that it didn't stem from malicious hatred. Rath wasn't like that. He was just highly opinionated and it often took a while for someone to break through his impossibly high standards. The young prince was sure he'd warm up to Emily eventually given time.

"Emily is giving a lecture tonight on how dinosaurs walked and stuff," Presley answered, fighting back a slight blush that burned on his cheeks as he resumed fiddling with his tie. "I thought I'd go see it."

Dinosaurs were kind of interesting so Presley really did want to see the lecture, of course that he thought Emily was cute may also have been a deciding factor in his decision. The suit however, had been his mother's idea.

After the incident in the park the young prince had been worried that perhaps the lecture for tonight would be cancelled. Even though they were relatively minor Emily had been injured so it was conceivable that she might choose to reschedule. His mother hadn't said anything though so he assumed that the lecture was going forward as scheduled.

The lanky scribe arched a single eyebrow at the young prince suspiciously. The boy wasn't necessarily a bad student but more often than not he had been more interested in his video games or his board on wheels than his studies. Rapses voluntarily seeking any form of education on his own, without being talked, guided or pressured into it, was truly surprising indeed. Perhaps the boy was finally starting to realize the importance of developing knowledge. Rath delighted in the thought, though perhaps it would have been better if the young prince's efforts had been turned towards something more suitable, such as mastering turning a staff into a snake.

"I'd better get back to the museum before mom wonders where I've gone," Presley dutifully informed, lazily waving good-bye to his guardians as he disappeared out the sphinx.

"Looks like we have ourselves a lecture to get to," Nefer-Tina stated matter-of-factly to no one in particular.

The fiery cat-guardian wasn't exactly looking forward to spending another evening listening to someone endlessly drone on about thing she had no interest in or couldn't care less about, but if that was where prince Rapses was going to be then his guardians would be there to protect him.

"Apparently so Nefer-Tina," Rath sighed. "Apparently so…"

* * *

Emily's heels softly clicked against the hard linoleum floor of the museum as she made her way towards Amanda Carnovan's office. She had been quite the dishevelled sight when she finally got a look at herself in the hotel bathroom mirror. Her hair had been sticking up in snarled tangles in a few places, her clothes had been covered in dirt and grass stains, and the bruise along her cheek had blossomed into a lovely shade of purple. Not exactly an ideal way to have made a positive first impression.

Oh well, it couldn't have been helped she supposed.

With a little work and a lot of patients, being mindful of her sore hand and the mildly painful burn on her shoulder, Emily had succeeded in making herself look presentable. Well mostly anyway. The bruise was still a bit of a problem but there was only so much concealer could do. It didn't look too bad from a distance so Emily figured she should at least be able to get through her presentation without the audience instantly jumping to the conclusion that she was the poor victim of some type of domestic abuse.

Not that she would in any way belittle the seriousness of such of thing, but when a woman had a bruise on her face that's where the general public's mind tended to go.

Her temporary companion, Ja-Kal, had left her back at the hotel, stating something about his duty requiring him elsewhere. Emily hadn't minded in the least. If he had other business to attend to she certainly wasn't going to stop him. Not that she had been chomping at the bit for any excuse to get him to leave or anything. Despite the strangeness of the day's events and of the man himself along with her own cautious voice of self-preservation Emily found herself kind of platonically liking the guy. They hadn't talked much, there had been a few questions and some menial small talk, but Emily had actually enjoyed Ja-Kal's company. Well until he started using nonsensical animal analogies anyway. She still had no idea what graceful gazelles or young lions had to do with anything.

Rapping her knuckles against Amanda's office door twice Emily waited a few brief moments before stepping inside. The beautiful caramel-toned woman in the turquoise skirt suit and white blouse sat behind her polished desk sorting through a massive stack of papers. Immediately sensing that someone had entered her office Amanda paused in her work and looked up from her pile of organized chaos.

Having been expecting the museum's guest lecturer Amanda wasn't at all surprised to see that it was Emily standing patiently in her office. Her observant green eyes went wide when she caught sight of the partially concealed bruise on the young paleontologist's cheek. She hoped the poor girl handed been mugged while she had been out in the city.

"Emily are you alright? What happened?" Amanda asked concerned.

Well that answered the question of whether the bruise was still noticeable up close.

"Just an unfortunate accident in the park," Emily neutrally replied back. "I'm fine. Really."

There was a bit more to it than just a mere accident but Emily would spare Amanda the details of her rather unorthodox day. It would all sound like something spun from the unstable mind of an escaped mental patient and Emily could certainly do without the other woman thinking that she might be suffering from some type of serious head injury.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Amanda questioned worriedly, as her long fingers danced quickly over her computer's keyboard. "I know it's a bit late but we could reschedule if…."

Emily calmly held up her hand effectively cutting Amanda off.

"I appreciate the offer but that really won't be necessary," the young paleontologist honestly informed.

After seeing the miserable state she'd been in Emily had been half-tempted to cancel the presentation tonight herself. The temptation to just enjoy a long, hot soak in the tub before curling up in front of the TV had been difficult to ignore. However, she had agreed to speak tonight and minor injuries aside she was still fully capable of doing so. Besides the topic of this lecture was something she was obviously passionate about so it wasn't like speaking at the museum was going to be something that was annoyingly tedious. The questions after sometimes could be, but that was another matter.

"If you're certain…," Amanda warily replied, allowing Emily one last chance to decline to speak tonight.

"Yes I'm sure," Emily nodded with a pleasant smile.

"Alright just give me a moment here and we'll head to the auditorium," Amanda cheerfully answered.

Her fingers clicked away on the computer keys for a few more seconds before she stood up and retrieve the turquoise blazer from the back of her chair. Looking down at the accumulated assortment of papers sitting on her desk Amanda gave a small, tired sigh. The work would still be there when she got back. It always was.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. Comments and questions are always welcome.**

**Unfortunately, as seems to be fairly typical with me I'm not sure when I will be back with the next chapter. Wish I could be more consistent but you know…real life obligations and what not, but don't worry I will be back eventually.**

**Until next time :)**


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